TIRANA – Albania’s government has granted strategic investor status to a company linked to Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to build a luxury resort on an uninhabited Mediterranean island that was once a military outpost.
The Balkan country’s Strategic Investment Committee, headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama, on Dec 30 accepted a proposal by Atlantic Incubation Partners for a 45-hectare project on the small island of Sazan, involving a planned investment of €1.4 billion (S$1.9 billion).
In the written decision, seen by Reuters on Jan 16, the committee said the project complied with legislation on strategic investment and on the number of jobs required by the legislation, saying it would employ an estimated 1,000 people.
Under the law, the granting of strategic investment status allows companies to implement an investment project that is deemed strategic as part of a strategic sector of the economy such as tourism.
“The form of the state’s participation in this investment will be realised through the establishment of a joint legal entity,” the committee said, adding that it would include the state-run Albanian Investment Corporation.
Reuters could not immediately reach Atlantic Incubation Partners for comment.
In 2024, Mr Kushner announced plans to build a tourist resort in Zvernec, in southern Albania, as part of a wider investment by his Affinity Partners in the Balkans that also includes the project on Sazan, off the Albanian coast, and a project in a former army headquarters in the Serbian capital Belgrade.
Mr Kushner, who served as a top aide to Trump during his father-in-law’s first term as US president, set up the investment firm in 2021.
Trump is due to be inaugurated for a second term on Jan 20.
The projects could boost local economies by enticing visitors, but the company faces opposition from critics who say they will harm the environment or, in the case of Belgrade, threaten sites of cultural significance. REUTERS
Join ST’s Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=678e77e7d32c4d01ad5d813e0575b95a&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.straitstimes.com%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Falbania-approves-luxury-resort-linked-to-trump-son-in-law-jared-kushners-company&c=16371869518342326647&mkt=de-de
Author :
Publish date : 2025-01-16 08:09:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.