Trump hotel to be built on top of NATO bombing site in £380m project

The development in central Belgrade is set to be Trump-branded (Image: Studio Genesis)

A Trump-branded hotel is set to be built in the capital of Serbia as part of a £380 million project spearheaded by the US President’s son-in-law. The high-rise hotel is a focal part of plans for a luxury compound in central Belgrade on the site of a former Yugoslav army headquarters partially destroyed by NATO bombing in 1999.

The project is due to be financed by an investment firm linked to Jared Kushner, husband of Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka. Serbian lawmakers have passed a special law paving the way for the development which has faced widespread public opposition and legal hurdles. The Serbian government last year stripped the former military complex of its protected status and signed a 99-year-lease agreement with Mr Kushner's US-based Affinity Global Development firm.

Jared Kushner was a senior adviser to his father-in-law during his first term as US President (Image: Getty)

However, the project stalled after Serbia’s organised crime prosecutors launched an investigation into whether documents used to remove that status were forged.

Serbia’s pro-Trump populist government has said the development would strengthen the economy and ties with the White House.

The plan has faced strong opposition from experts because of the building’s architectural significance and because it is seen by some as a symbol of resistance to the US-led NATO bombing, widely viewed in the Balkan country as an unjust “aggression”.

There have been protests against turning the former headquarters into a luxury complex (Image: Getty)

The special bill was approved in Serbia’s parliament on Friday with a majority of 130 to 40 following days of heated parliamentary debate and street protests by opponents.

It allows authorities to push forward work on the site, including demolition of what remains of the two sprawling buildings seen as prime examples of mid-20th century architecture in the former Yugoslavia.

The bill does not mention Mr Kushner’s company or details of any future development projects.

As well as a hotel tower, the project is set to include a luxury apartment complex, office spaces and shops.

Authorities say Mr Kushner’s firm has committed to building a memorial complex within the site, dedicated to all victims of the NATO bombing campaign.

The alliance bombed Serbia for 78 days to force then-President Slobodan Milosevic to end his crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.