Albania’s government has approved a request by Jared Kushner to develop the uninhabited island of Sazan, granting the initiative strategic investor status.

The project aims to transform this once isolated military outpost of Fascist Italy and Communist Albania into a luxury resort.

“The projected investment of ‘Sazan Island Touristic Resort’ of 1.4 billion euros fulfils the criteria foreseen in the legislation on strategic investments,” the government decision awarding the status reads.

“The projected investment fulfils the criteria on the number of jobs as requested by the legislation on strategic investments. During the development and operational parts of the investment, the employment of 1,000 people is foreseen,” the decision adds.

Kushner announced plans to invest in Albania in March last year, along with plans to invest in Serbia, which raised questions about whether his businesses were benefiting from leverage of the status of his father-in-law, Donald Trump, the incoming president of the United States.

The island is a five-square-kilometreoutcrop some 30 kilometres from Vlora, overseeing the Otranto Strait. It is uninhabited and has almost no fresh water. However, after the World War I, Italy developed it into a military base of strategic importance for the control of the strait.

Albania took over following Italy’s defeat in World War II and also developed it as a military base. It was used again as a military base by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza in the late 1990s, as Italy attempted to crack down on human trafficking operations from Albania to Italy.

The remains of both Italian and Albanian military fortifications have made Sazan a touristic attraction with several ships and dozens of boats offering daily trips from Vlora during summer.

But the island nominally remained a military base up to December 2024, when a presidential decision removed it from a list of national military assets.

The government decision notes that the project will occupy some 562 hectares, of which some 45 hectares will be developed.

Kushner has also proposed to develop the Zvernec area, which falls within the environmentally protected area of Narte-Zvernec.

(Source: Balkan Insight)