منتجع جزيرة سازان

منتجع جزيرة سازان
Sazan Island – port and old apartment buildings
معلومات عامة
الوضع	مقترح
الموقع	جزيرة سازان، ألبانيا
الثمن	1.4 بليون يورو
التصميم والإنشاء
المطور	أتلانتيك إنكوبيشن پارتنرز (بدعم من جارد كوشنر)

منتجع جزيرة سازان (Sazan Island Resort)ن هو مشروع مقترح لتطوير السياحة الفاخرة في جزيرة سازان، في منطقة زڤرنتس الساحلية المحمية (بالقرب من ڤلورا)، ألبانيا. بدعم من صهر دونالد ترمپ والمستثمر الأمريكي والمبعوث الخاص للولايات المتحدة جارد كوشنر، تبلغ قيمة المشروع حوالي 1.4 بليون يورو ومن المتوقع أن يحول جزيرة عسكرية خرجت من الخدمة إلى منتجع بيئي راقي. وفي المنطقة الساحلية المحمية، التي تتميز ببحيرات ومستنقعات حساسة بيئياً، تنص الخطة على استثمار ما يقرب من 4.7 بليون دولار. أثار المشروع احتجاجات واسعة النطاق في ألبانيا.

 خلفية

Sazan Island, a strategic site in the Ionian Sea, has a surface area of 5.7 km² (2.2 sq mi). It is 4.8 km (3.0 mi) long and 2 km (1.2 mi) wide, and its coastline measures about 15 km (9.3 mi). The island was mentioned by Pseudo-Scylax in his Periplus.

The island was used as a military base throughout the 20th century by Italian, Soviet, and Albanian forces. After World War II, in 1947, the Paris Peace Treaty transferred sovereignty over the island to Albania. During the Cold War, Albania became known as Europe's North Korea due to the extreme paranoia of dictator Enver Hoxha who used the island as a look out point for a believed attack from NATO or members of the Warsaw Pact. By the 1970s, there were about 150 military families who lived on the island without contact to the mainland, with the island hosting a military base, theatre, school and hospital. The coastal protected area, named Narta lagoon, is one among the most important wetlands of the Balkans, known for its salt pans, wild beaches and extraordinary biodiversity, sheltering of hundreds of species of migratory birds, including pink flamingos.

In December 2024, the Albanian government declassified the island for civilian use. In 2010, 2،721.87 هكتار (6،725.9 acre) of the island's surrounding marine area was designated as the Karaburun-Sazan Marine Park.. Even if the Albanian Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has opened a formal investigation into the procedures for approving the work. The investigation aims to shed light on the controversial legislative amendments adopted in 2024 that have changed the status of protected areas, allowing real estate development, and on the funds and methods of land acquisition that took place without regular tenders. Also, although the Albanian government claims that the land concerned is privately owned and acquired in a transparent manner, legal disputes and complaints have arisen for the overlapping of claims and property rights, following the chaotic post-communist privatization.

 التطوير

The resort is being planned by Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, affiliated with Kushner’s private equity firm Affinity Partners. The project was awarded "Strategic Investor" status by the Albanian government, allowing for expedited permits and incentives. The purchase of the Sazan island is reportedly $1.4 billion USD with an included $4.7 billion agreement on part of the protected coastal landscape of Zvërnec. The preliminary approval for the purchase of the island was in January 2025, about two months after Jared Kushner's father in-law Donald Trump was elected for a second term, and days before he was inaugurated for the second time. Both Kushner and the Albania government have stated that Trump and Kushner's connection and prior position in his cabinet did not influence the sale of the island or approval of the project. Since the beginning of the works, with the first deforestation and barbed wire fences to limit access to the area, the ascertained damage is already irreversible for the delicate ecosystem, among the others: the destruction of the millennial dunes of Zvërnec; the interruption of the water exchange of the Narta Lagoon; the fragmentation of the migratory corridor (Adriatic Flyway).

 المميزات

The development is expected to include a luxury eco-resort managed by Aman Resorts, hotels and private villas, a marina, restaurants and recreational facilities, restoration and adaptive reuse of Cold War-era military structures..

 التدخل الحكومي

The project is structured as a public-private partnership. The Albanian Investment Corporation and the state-owned Seaports Development Company hold joint oversight of the state’s stake in the venture. Strategic investor designation allows the project to bypass certain bureaucratic hurdles.

On 1 June 2026, the Albanian Special Prosecution Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) confirmed that they had opened an investigation into the projected changes in the islands protected status and land ownership.

 مشروعات متعلقة

The Sazan Island Resort is part of a broader regional investment initiative by Kushner, which was set to include a planned luxury retreat in Zvernec, Albania and urban redevelopment projects in Belgrade, Serbia. In December 2025, it was reported that the Affinity Partners had withdrawn their planned $500 million hotel construction project in Belgrade and the plan to build a luxury complex over the General Staff buildings that had been destroyed during NATO bombing in 1999, had been scrapped. The report came hours after Serbia's Prosecutors Office for Organized Crime filed an indictment against Cultural Minister Nikola Selakovic for allegedly illegally removing the buildings' cultural heritage status.

 الوقع

 الوقع الاقتصادي

The investment is projected to potentially inject €1.4 billion into the Albanian economy, create approximately 1,000 jobs during construction and operation, and position Albania as a high-end Mediterranean destination.

 المخاوف البيئية

Environmental groups have expressed concern over the ecological impact. Sazan Island lies within the Karaburun-Sazan National Marine Park and is home to rare marine and bird species. Critics argue that the resort could harm biodiversity and marine habitats. While speaking to Albanian lawmakers in early June 2026, Albanian prime minister Edi Rama denied that the project would encroach on the protected wildlife reserve and that a final proposal had yet to be submitted and the environmental study had not been completed.

 نقد

Concerns have been raised regarding transparency, environmental impact, and foreign influence in strategic coastal areas. Critics, including some opposition politicians and local NGOs, call for more public scrutiny of the contract and long-term obligations.

Crowd during 4 June 2026 protests in Albania against proposed project

 الاحتجاجات

المقالة الرئيسية: احتجاجات زڤرنتس 2026

In late May 2026, protestors including citizens and environmental organizations protested outside the government offices and demanded an end to the project, protection of the area from development and resignation of the prime minister, with another protest scheduled in Tirana about a week later. During the protests, chants of "Cancel the project" were heard with protestors holding banners stating Albania is not for sale” and “Ivanka, go home”, in reference to Kushner's wife Ivanka Trump. Footage from the protest a day before appears to show private security guards assaulting and dragging a protestor along a cliff, while threatening other protestors who had attempted to remove fences and halt construction. Two private security companies had their licenses revoked due to the actions recorded during the protest, with the General Director of the State Police Skënder Hita announcing an investigation into the conduct of the private security.

 انظر أيضاً

• السياحة في ألبانيا
• أفينيتي پارتنزر
• الريڤييرا الألبانية