TIRANA, Albania - A large-scale coastal initiative connected to Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former U.S. President Donald Trump, is encountering increasing opposition from demonstrators across Albania.

Officials maintain that the venture along the Adriatic shoreline will transform the post-communist country by boosting premium tourism and supporting its European Union accession efforts.

Yet the plan, covering a deserted island and adjacent shoreline in southern Albania, has sparked backlash from green activists and opponents of long-serving Socialist leader Edi Rama.

The luxury venture includes two main parts: a shoreline project near the Narta Lagoon wildlife reserve and a smaller resort on the uninhabited island of Sazan, once a communist-era military outpost.

The planned hotels, apartments, villas and marina are tied to Kushner and Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump.

In a recent interview with U.S. podcaster David Senra, Ivanka Trump described how they stumbled upon the location during a boat trip with friends.

"We were on a friend's boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that's how we found it," she said. "We swam to the island. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated."

An investment firm associated with Kushner has received special investor status from Albanian officials.

Albania possesses 450 kilometers (280 miles) of coastline that stayed largely untouched during decades of strict communist governance.

Protest groups worry that portions of this untouched shoreline may be acquired by influential investors. Public outrage intensified after footage showed an activist being pulled by a private security guard during a demonstration at the location.

The project is set inside a nature reserve and one of Albania's key biodiversity zones, serving as an important stop for migratory birds along the Adriatic.

Demonstrators have displayed cardboard cut-outs of pink flamingos, among the protected migratory species, during rallies in the capital Tirana.

Since late May, excavators and heavy equipment have moved into the zone, creating access paths, digging sand, clearing pine tree areas and erecting fences.

Environmental organizations from Albania and other European nations have criticized the activity, with one leading local group claiming that long-protected habitats are being "irreversibly destroyed."

Albania's state anti-corruption body has verified it launched an inquiry into the project but has released no further information.

The government states the land designated for the project is privately held. However, rival claims have surfaced questioning the privatization process, a frequent legal issue.

Rama has backed the effort, noting it fits Albania's goal of becoming a leading global tourism destination.

"Albania should not be a country that fears an extraordinary project like this one, where exceptional partners have come together to invest 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion)," Rama said.

He added: "There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here."

Still, the collapse of a comparable project in Serbia serves as a warning. In November, Serbia's Parliament approved a special law to allow construction of a luxury complex in Belgrade financed by a Kushner-linked firm.

The next month, Serbia's organized crime prosecutor charged four individuals, including a government minister, with abuse of office and document falsification to facilitate the development.

Kushner subsequently withdrew from the planned multi-million investment that would have replaced a large bombed-out military site, a protected heritage area whose safeguards were removed by the former officials now facing trial.