Kushner’s Albania Resort Fuels Backlash Over Coastal Habitat

Preparatory work at Jared Kushner’s planned luxury resort in Albania already ignited a political and environmental firestorm. A satellite analysis suggests significant changes have already been made to a once-protected coastal landscape before the project cleared its environmental review.

Satellite imagery shows roads, a bridge and large sections of cleared land inside the proposed resort site near the village of Zvernec, a sensitive ecosystem on Albania’s southwest coast, according to the New York Times. The development is being pursued by Kushner and Sazan Real Estate Development and has the support of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

The project has become a flashpoint over Albania’s push to attract high-end tourism investment. Thousands of demonstrators have protested what they describe as the privatization of protected public land for foreign developers, while environmental groups argue the work has already damaged habitats that support migratory birds, loggerhead turtles and other wildlife.

The controversy centers on a 2024 decision by Albania’s government to loosen environmental protections across part of the project area. Land that previously carried the country’s highest conservation designation was downgraded, opening the door for luxury tourism projects.

Developers began preparing the site this spring, according to the Times’ analysis.

Satellite images indicate roughly 20 acres of pine forest, dunes and natural habitat were flattened between March and mid-June. The imagery also shows a roughly five-mile gravel access road stretching across the property, along with a newly constructed bridge connecting portions of the site.

Planning documents obtained by the Times suggest the resort could eventually include a hotel, a casino, golf course and water park, though Sazan Real Estate Development cautioned that those plans remain preliminary and should not be treated as final.

The company said only preparatory work has occurred and maintained that environmental stewardship remains a priority throughout the planning process.

Developers and Albanian officials also emphasized that a formal environmental impact assessment is underway and will be completed before vertical construction begins. They characterized the bridge and other infrastructure as minimally intrusive, despite criticism that temporary dams used during construction disrupted water circulation between the lagoon and the Adriatic Sea.

While construction activity has paused following public protests, the dispute underscores the growing tension between governments eager to lure luxury development and communities questioning the environmental cost.

— Holden Walter-Warner