Protests that have erupted over Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s plans to develop a luxury resort on an Albanian island look set to intensify.
Demonstrations have taken place over the last few days in the Balkan state over plans by President Donald Trump’s daughter and her husband to build a $1.4 billion resort on the uninhabited island of Sazan. The couple also hope to carry out a multibillion-dollar project that includes building hotels along the coast of Zvërnec, where wildlife such as flamingos and sea turtles nest.
There have been widespread concerns that the development project will severely damage the island’s natural landscape and have a significant environmental impact.
While there have already been three days of protests against the plans in the Albanian capital of Tirana, further demonstrations are also planned in the south of the country, where some groundwork on the project has already begun, The Guardian reported.
The escalation in the protests also comes after opponents of the project rejected an offer from Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama to hold crunch talks about the plans, which have been years in the making.
“From start to finish there has been a total lack of transparency,” Aleksandër Trajçe, executive director of the country’s leading conservation group, the Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA), told The Guardian.
“We have seen no public consultation or public documentation regarding permits, and so now what we are saying is, if they remove the bulldozers, remove the fence and restore the habitats to what they were, then we can start talking.”
In 2024, Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners sealed a deal to transform the secluded island of Sazan into a luxury resort. In December 2024, just weeks after Trump’s election victory, the Albanian government granted the project “strategic investor status,” allowing it to unlock fast-track approvals for permits and leases.
Albanian opposition leader Sali Berisha said that while he supports the renovation projects, he expressed concerns that Rama could have been “seeking to buy political influence” from Trump by giving the president’s son-in-law’s plans the go-ahead.
Rama, who considers the project vital in turning Albania into a tourist destination, rejected arguments that it will damage the island’s natural and environmental landscape.
“There is absolutely no chance that the investment will stop as long as I am here,” he said.
Backlash against the plans intensified this week after Ivanka discussed them during an interview on David Serna’s podcast, claiming they want to “transform” the island of Sazan “but with a lot of restraint and care because the land is so beautiful.”
“We were on a friend’s boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that’s how we found it. We swam to the islands. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way, up to the top. And we were just captivated,” Ivanka added.
The podcast’s social media pages were then flooded with negative comments as they tried to promote Ivanka’s interview. These include ones stating “Albania is not for sale,” “Hands off Albanian soil” and “Sazan is not a private island, it belongs to the Albanian people.”
The Daily Show anchor Michael Kosta also mocked Ivanka and her husband for the multibillion resort plans while Americans are suffering in a cost-of-living crisis exacerbated by Trump’s war with Iran.
“And for those of you who are thinking, hey, before buying a private island, shouldn’t billionaires maybe read the room? What you don’t understand is, the island doesn’t have rooms yet,” Kosta said.
The Daily Beast has contacted Affinity Partners for comment.
