"An Absolute Biodiversity Massacre": The Trump Family's Luxury Project in Albania Has Already Caused Irreparable Damage — and Rama Vows It Won't Stop

Even before real construction has begun, the mega-project for a luxury resort on Sazan Island and the Zvernec peninsula in Albania — backed by Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners fund and the Trump family — has caused damage scientists describe as irreparable. Satellite images from May this year show that in just 25 days a road was cut through, an entire forest zone was cleared, and a bridge was built connecting the Narta lagoon to the sea.

"Bulldozers on the turtles' nests"

The project is worth between $1.4 billion for Sazan itself — a former communist military base — and as much as $4.7 billion for the wider zone extending into the protected Vjosa-Narta area, home to endangered species such as loggerhead turtles, Mediterranean monk seals and flamingos.

"Bulldozers on the beaches have already damaged the nesting sites of loggerhead turtles, which are threatened with extinction... An absolute biodiversity massacre," warns marine biologist Olsi Nika of the NGO EcoAlbania.

Professor Ferdinand Bego of the University of Tirana assesses that the damage caused to the site "long before construction even began is largely irreparable."

Rama: "As long as I am here, the investment does not stop"

In late 2024 the Albanian government granted "strategic investor" status to an entity linked to Kushner's fund — with fast-tracked procedures and a ten-year tax exemption — after parliament had already lifted the ban on construction in protected areas in February 2024. Prime Minister Edi Rama is adamant:

"Albania should not be a country that fears an extraordinary project like this one... There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here."

But pressure is mounting from all sides. Thousands of Albanians have been protesting for months in Tirana and Vlora, and in June clashes broke out with private security after beaches were fenced off with barbed wire. The special anti-corruption prosecution has opened an investigation into the change of Vjosa-Narta's protected status, the bypassing of public tenders and the origin of funds used to buy land titles. From Brussels, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos reminded that Albania has committed to repealing the disputed legal amendments this year. The clash between billions and nature — in a country aiming for EU membership by 2030 — is only intensifying.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0