By Fatos Bytyci and Florion Goga
ZVERNEC, Albania (Reuters) – Through binoculars, ornithologist Jon Vorpsi spies flamingos and pelicans stopping along their migratory routes on a patch of protected land on Albania’s southern coast.
Vorpsi fears the show may soon be over if Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner proceeds with plans to build a tourist resort in the area near the city of Vlora, beloved by locals for its peaceful pine forests, olive trees and paths, and where cows stroll along deserted and windswept beaches.
Kushner announced the plans last month, part of a broader investment by his Affinity Partners in the Balkans that includes another project on a nearby island in Albania and a third in a former army headquarters in Serbia’s capital , Belgrade.
Kushner, a former aide to Trump when he was president, founded the investment firm after stepping down from the post in 2021.
The projects could boost local economies by attracting visitors, but have faced opposition from locals who fear they could harm the environment or, in the case of Belgrade, threaten sites of cultural importance.
Kushner unveiled the plans weeks after Albania’s parliament changed a law allowing the government to grant building permits in protected areas for hotels or resorts with five stars or more. He did not say at the time how much Affinity plans to invest.
“It is a great sadness to know that this area will no longer serve the next generations,” said Vorpsi, who works for the local environmental NGO PPNEA.
“In 10 years this place will be gray and full of concrete,” he added as he searched for new bird species with his binoculars near the village of Zvernec.
Kushner and Affinity Partners did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Since the fall of communism in 1990, Albania has struggled with economic and political instability and widespread emigration, especially among young people.
But its alpine lakes and pristine coastline have attracted growing numbers of tourists seeking a quieter, cheaper alternative to neighboring Greece and Croatia. Last year it welcomed more than 10 million tourists, 35% more than in 2022.
“TRUMP VILLAS”
Vlorë Mayor Ermal Dredha welcomed Kushner’s project, which includes yacht docks, swimming pools and exclusive villas, saying he intends to turn the city into a “high-end tourist destination” and vowed not to damage the environment.
“Without the investment, how will we attract all these people who come here and choose Vlora?” Dredha said.
Kushner’s plans, which locals call “Trump mansions,” are already causing a sensation.
Real estate agent Flori Brahimaj said prices for apartments with potential views of the planned project site have already risen to between 100 and 200 euros per square meter.
In Serbia, Affinity plans to finance a luxury project in central Belgrade that would include a hotel, apartments, shops and offices on the site where the headquarters of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) was located until 1999, when NATO bombed it as part of an air campaign against Serbian atrocities in Kosovo.
More than 26,000 people have signed an online petition to protect the two corresponding buildings that make up a protected cultural site.