Police deployed water cannon after protesters breached a security cordon near government buildings and demanded the cancellation of the development. Demonstrators carried signs reading "Keep your hands away from Narta" and called for the resignation of officials backing the scheme.

The project, which has been linked to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and his investment firm Affinity Partners, targets the Narta Lagoon on Albania's Adriatic coast, an area recognised for its ecological importance and wildlife habitats, a connection that has intensified public anger.

The Albanian government argues the investment could transform the country's tourism sector and support its ambitions for closer integration with the European Union. The development includes a resort in the Narta Lagoon area and a separate project on Sazan Island, a former military base.

Environmental groups warn that construction could last between 10 and 15 years and involve extensive infrastructure works, including around 10,000 hotel rooms. Activists say the scale of the project risks permanently altering one of Albania's most sensitive coastal landscapes and has become a symbol of wider concerns over development and environmental protection.

The development has been linked to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, whose investment firm Affinity Partners is backing the resort projects, a connection that has further fuelled public anger in Albania.