“Albania Is Not For Sale” Protesters Demanding The Cancellation Of The Vjosa-Narta Coastal Development And The Resignation Of Prime Minister Edi Rama, Who Vows The Project “Will Not Be Stopped For As Long As I Am Here”
According to The New York Times, Bloomberg, Euronews and Arab News, thousands of people marched through Tirana for a second consecutive day on Tuesday to protest a €4 billion luxury resort project linked to Jared Kushner, planned for the protected Vjosa-Narta coastal landscape and the uninhabited Adriatic island of Sazan. Demonstrators carried signs reading “Hands off Vjosa-Narta” and chanted “Albania belongs to Albanians,” demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The protests were triggered by video footage circulating on social media showing private security guards dragging a demonstrator along a cliff, after barbed-wire fences were erected blocking public beach access. Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office, SPAK, confirmed it had opened an investigation into changes made in 2024 to the area’s protected status and land ownership.
Prime Minister Rama rejected all calls to halt the development at a joint press conference with European Council President Antonio Costa, saying: “There is not a single chance it will be stopped for as long as I am here.” It is not the first time Kushner has faced similar controversy in the Balkans. Affinity Partners dropped a development project in Serbia in 2025 following controversy and investigations by local anti-corruption authorities.
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