It has been three months since Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris took to Twitter to propose buying an island from Greece or Italy to house migrants and refugees.
Sawiris, is Africa’s 10th richest man with a fortune of $3 billion. His idea went viral and soon the project started to receive public donations and established a joint-stock company with $100 million in capital.
The billionaire seems more optimistic about moving forward with the plan to buy an island, according to an email from Sawiris’ spokesperson on 18 November.
In mid-September Sawiris stated that he’d created a team dedicated to organizing volunteers into areas of expertise so they’re ready to start contributing to the project when the work of transporting and housing refugees begins. He also explained the concept of a joint-stock company.
“Establishing a legal entity will allow us to accept donations in a legitimate way, as anyone who will donate will get shares in the company, thus becoming a partner in the island and in the project,” reads the announcement.
“This way, any money put in will not be completely lost, as the asset (the island) will remain.”
The mogul is now studying the potential of 17 Greek islands in order to determine which can accommodate the highest number of refugees and has “highest potential for future use.”
Sawiris is still awaiting Greek government approval to purchase an island, which he said he would name Aylan Island to honor the 3-year old Syrian boy whose drowned body was washed up in a Turkish beach.
Neither the Greek government nor the UN Refugee Agency have responded to FORBES’ request for comment.
Source: Forbes