Fynn D’Ortona

Dortmund/NRW/Germany
info@fynndortona.com

©Fynn D‘Ortona

delta

The Vjosa, the last wild river in Europe, flows
into the Mediterranean Sea in southern Albania.
In March 2023, the river was declared a national
park with the goal to protect its extraordinary
biodiversity in the long term.
At the same time, Albania‘s government under
Prime Minister Edi Rama is pursuing a pro-
European course aiming to expand the tourism
industry in order to offer the population better
economic prospects.

The ‘Vlora International Airport’ is currently being
built in the Vjosa Delta and is expected to bring
over 600,000 passengers a year to the planned
hotel complexes. One of the investors is Jared
Kushner and his company Affinity Partners.
He is planning to invest into an 1,100-hectare
luxury resort with 6,000 hotel rooms on the
Narta lagoon and further buildings on the island
of Sazan. Environmental organisations such
as EcoAlbania, PPNEA and EuroNatur warn of
the consequences for the unique ecosystem.
Supported by researchers from Tirana and
Vienna, they are campaigning against the
construction projects.

This work explores life in the delta and the
intersections between environmental protection,
economic investments and local perspectives.