An Egyptian Telecoms billionaire has proposed buying a Mediterranean island to shelter refugees fleeing from Syria and other countries.
Naguib Sawiris, who is believed to be worth $2.9billion, announced his idea on Twitter this week.
He tweeted: “Greece or Italy sell me an island, I’ll call its independence and host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country.”
He added: “Crazy idea… Maybe but at least temporary until they can return to their countries??!!”
Speaking to AFP later, he said: “Of course it’s feasible. You have dozens of islands which are deserted and could accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees.”
He estimated an island off Greece of Italy could cost between $10-$100million but stressed “the main thing is investment in infrastructure.”
Egyptian Telecoms billionaire Naguib Sawiris is believed to be worth $2.9billion
Sawiris admitted the plan has its challenges – including whether Greece or Italy could be persuaded to sell an island, as well as arranging jurisdiction and customs regulations.
But he insisted refugees who came to it would be treated as “human beings”, complaining: “The way they are being treated now, they are being treated like cattle.”
Speaking to CBC on Wednesday he said: “No sane person with integrity would look at the news and decide not to take action.”
According to Al Ahram news channel, Sawiris cited the 32,000 strong El Gouna, a resort town he developed on the Red Sea in Egypt, as an example of a “desert land that he turned habitable.”
Sawiris’ comments come after a week of harrowing events, which have forced the world to acknowledge the scale of the refugee crisis taking place in Europe.
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His proposal echoes that of US property tycoon Jason Buzi, who in July announced his solution of a "Refugee Nation" - a brand new country "which any refugee, from anywhere in the world, can call home."
But Buzi's plans were slammed by a former senior advisor to the Australian government, who said the idea is similar to treating refugees like “lepers”.
Migrant crisis
GREECE-EUROPE-MIGRANTS(01 of40)
Migrants walk down a slope on their way to cross the Greek-Macedonian border near the vilage of Idomeni, northern Greece, on 4 September, 2015. Europe is facing an 'unprecedented humanitarian and political crisis' as it struggles with the huge influx of refugees and migrants, the European Commission's vice-president Frans Timmermans said Thursday. 'We must find European responses to a problem that cannot be resolved by countries individually,' Timmermans said ahead of talks with Greek Prime Minister Vassiliki Thanou on a crisis that has seen more than 230,000 people land on Greek shores this year. AFP PHOTO /Sakis Mitrolidis (Photo credit should read SAKIS MITROLIDIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:SAKIS MITROLIDIS via Getty Images)
GREECE-EUROPE-MIGRANTS(02 of40)
Migrants raise hands to catch bottles of waters given by volunteers of humanitarian organizations as they wait to cross the Greek-Macedonian border near the vilage of Idomeni, northern Greece, on 4 September, 2015. Europe is facing an 'unprecedented humanitarian and political crisis' as it struggles with the huge influx of refugees and migrants, the European Commission's vice-president Frans Timmermans said Thursday. 'We must find European responses to a problem that cannot be resolved by countries individually,' Timmermans said ahead of talks with Greek Prime Minister Vassiliki Thanou on a crisis that has seen more than 230,000 people land on Greek shores this year. AFP PHOTO /Sakis Mitrolidis (Photo credit should read SAKIS MITROLIDIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:SAKIS MITROLIDIS via Getty Images)
(03 of40)
Turkish soldiers prevent a journalist from crossing the Turkey-Syrian border post in Sanliurfa, on September 4, 2015, prior to the arrival of the hearse carrying the body of three-year old Aylan Kurdi , whose lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach. Images of the toddler Aylan whose lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach spread like wildfire through social media and his plight has dominated international headlines, in a heart-rending symbol of the mortal risks faced by tens of thousands of refugees desperate to reach Europe by sea. AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:OZAN KOSE via Getty Images)
Hungary Migrants(04 of40)
People shout slogans outside of a train that was stopped in Bicske, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. Over 150,000 migrants have reached Hungary this year, most coming through the southern border with Serbia. Many apply for asylum but quickly try to leave for richer EU countries. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Hungary Migrants(05 of40)
A man holds onto a fence outside a train that was stopped in Bicske, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. Over 150,000 migrants have reached Hungary this year, most coming through the southern border with Serbia. Many apply for asylum but quickly try to leave for richer EU countries. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Hungary Migrants(06 of40)
Asylum seekers sleep at Keleti underground railway station in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. Over 150,000 people seeking to enter Europe have reached Hungary this year, most coming through the southern border with Serbia, and many apply for asylum but quickly try to leave for richer EU countries. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Hungary Migrants(07 of40)
Asylum seekers sleep at Keleti underground railway station in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. Over 150,000 people seeking to enter Europe have reached Hungary this year, most coming through the southern border with Serbia, and many apply for asylum but quickly try to leave for richer EU countries. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Turkey Migrants Family Drowns(08 of40)
Turkish soldiers take position on a road near the border with Syria as aconvoy of vehicles with Abdullah Kurdi, the Syrian man who survived a capsizing during a desperate voyage from Turkey to Greece has taken the bodies of his wife and two sons back to the Syrian Kurdish region they fled, to bury them in their hometown of Kobani, Syria, drive in Suruc, Turkey, Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. The haunting image of the man's 3-year-old son, Aylan Kurdi, washed up on Turkish beach focused the world's attention on a wave of war-and-deprivation-fueled migration unmatched since World War II.(AP Photos/Emrah Gurel)Turkish soldiers take position on a road near Suruc on the border with Syria as a convoy of vehicles with Abdullah Kurdi, the Syrian man who survived a capsizing during a desperate voyage from Turkey to Greece takes the bodies of his wife and two sons back to the Syrian Kurdish region they fled, to bury them in their hometown of Kobani, Syria. The haunting image of the man's 3-year-old son, Aylan Kurdi, washed up on Turkish beach focused the world's attention on the wave of migration fueled by war and deprivation. (AP Photos/Emrah Gurel) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
APTOPIX Hungary Migrants(09 of40)
People shout slogans outside a train that was stopped in Bicske, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. Over 150,000 migrants have reached Hungary this year, most coming through the southern border with Serbia. Many apply for asylum but quickly try to leave for richer EU countries. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Greece Migrants(10 of40)
Refugees and migrants enter a bus, transporting them to the metro station, after their arrival from the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos to the Athens' port of Piraeus on Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. About 2,500 people arrived with the ferry Eleftherios Venizelos as Greek Government does not seen an end to the flood of refugees and migrants anytime soon with the vast majority of migrants were reaching five eastern Greek islands: with Lesbos seeing 50 percent of arrivals. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Germany Migrants(11 of40)
Migrants grab for food delivered by volunteers as they wait for registration at the reception center for refugees and asylum seekers in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
HUNGARY-EUROPE-SYRIA-AFGHANISTAN-MIGRANTS(12 of40)
Migrants show train tickets as they sit in front of the Keleti (East) railway station in Budapest on September 2, 2015. Hungarian authorities face mounting anger from thousands of migrants who are unable to board trains to western European countries after the main Budapest station was closed. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ATTILA KISBENEDEK via Getty Images)
HUNGARY-EUROPE-SYRIA-AFGHANISTAN-MIGRANTS(13 of40)
Migrants sit in front of the Keleti (East) railway station in Budapest on September 2, 2015. Hungarian authorities face mounting anger from thousands of migrants who are unable to board trains to western European countries after the main Budapest station was closed. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ATTILA KISBENEDEK via Getty Images)
HUNGARY-EUROPE-SYRIA-AFGHANISTAN-MIGRANTS(14 of40)
Young migrant shows a train ticket as he sits in front of the Keleti (East) railway station in Budapest on September 2, 2015. Hungarian authorities face mounting anger from thousands of migrants who are unable to board trains to western European countries after the main Budapest station was closed. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ATTILA KISBENEDEK via Getty Images)
HUNGARY-EUROPE-SYRIA-AFGHANISTAN-MIGRANTS(15 of40)
Migrant boy holds a sign reading 'SOS help me' as he sits with other migrants in front of the Keleti (East) railway station in Budapest on September 2, 2015. Hungarian authorities face mounting anger from thousands of migrants who are unable to board trains to western European countries after the main Budapest station was closed. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ATTILA KISBENEDEK via Getty Images)
Migrants in Budapest Keleti railway station(16 of40)
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - SEPTEMBER 02 : Migrants protest outside Keleti station which remains closed to them in central Budapest on September 2, 2015 in Budapest, Hungary. Hundreds of migrants protest in front of Budapest's Keleti Railway Terminus for a second straight day on September 2, 2015 demanding to be let onto trains bound for Germany from a station that has been currently closed to them. (Photo by Arpad Kurucz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Migrants in Budapest Keleti railway station(17 of40)
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - SEPTEMBER 02 : Migrants protest outside Keleti station which remains closed to them in central Budapest on September 2, 2015 in Budapest, Hungary. Hundreds of migrants protest in front of Budapest's Keleti Railway Terminus for a second straight day on September 2, 2015 demanding to be let onto trains bound for Germany from a station that has been currently closed to them. (Photo by Arpad Kurucz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Doors Are Opened To Migrants At Budapest Railway Station(18 of40)
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - SEPTEMBER 03: Migrants board trains in Keleti station after it was reopened this morning in central Budapest on September 3, 2015 in Budapest, Hungary. Although the station has reopened all international trains to Western Europe have been cancelled. According to the Hungarian authorities a record number of migrants from many parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia are crossing the border from Serbia. Since the beginning of 2015 the number of migrants using the so-called Balkans route has exploded with migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey and then travelling on through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the EU via Hungary. The massive increase, said to be the largest migration of people since World War II, led Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban to order Hungary's army to build a steel and barbed wire security barrier along its entire border with Serbia, after more than 100,000 asylum seekers from a variety of countries and war zones entered the country so far this year. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) (credit:Matt Cardy via Getty Images)
(19 of40)
IDOMENI, GREECE - SEPTEMBER 02: A Syrian migrant holds her daughter as they wait to be processed across a border crossing into Macedonia for migrants September 2, 2015 in Idomeni, Greece. Since the beginning of 2015 the number of migrants using the so-called 'Balkans route' has exploded with migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey and then travelling on through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the EU via Hungary. The number of people leaving their homes in war torn countries such as Syria, marks the largest migration of people since World War II. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (credit:Win McNamee via Getty Images)
(20 of40)
GEVGELIJA, MACEDONIA - SEPTEMBER 2: Migrants wait at the Greek-Macedonian border to cross into Macedonia on September 02, 2015 near Gevgelija. (Photo by Ilin Nikolovski/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(21 of40)
A local resident offers grapes to an Afghan migrant as they sit at Victoria square, Athens, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, where many migrants stay temporarily before continuing their trip to more prosperous European countries. The country has borne the brunt of a massive refugee and migration flow of people heading into the European Union, with more than 200,000 people arriving so far this year. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(22 of40)
Hungarian policemen guard an entrance to the Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, as hundreds of migrants demanded to be let on trains to Germany. Over 150,000 migrants have reached Hungary this year, most coming through the southern border with Serbia. Many apply for asylum but quickly try to leave for richer EU countries. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(23 of40)
In this Sept. 1, 2015 (18.37gmt/21.37 local) photo Syrian migrants disembark from the catamaran Terra Jet at the Athens' port of Piraeus. About 1,800 refugees arrived from the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos as the country has been overwhelmed by record numbers of migrants this year. The vast majority of the people are from Syria and Afghanistan reaching from the nearby Turkish coasts and try to cross Balkans and continue to more prosperous European countries. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(24 of40)
In this Tuesday Sept. 1, 2015 (2:14gmt) photo Syrian refugee Abed Hadi,19, feeds his nephew as he sits with other migrants at the railway tracks waiting to cross the borders from Idomeni town, northern Greece to southern Macedonia. Greece has been overwhelmed by record numbers of migrants this year. Nearly all head to Greece's northern border with Macedonia, cross into Serbia and Hungary and go toward more prosperous European countries. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(25 of40)
In this Tuesday, Sept 1. 2015, photo, Red Crescent workers, some wearing protective suits, collect the body of a drowned migrant, who washed up along with several others in Zuwara, Libya (65 miles west of Tripoli) after two smuggling boats sank off the coast of Libya last Thursday. More than 2,000 migrants have drowned this year, including 200 last week, chiefly when trying to reach Italy's southernmost islands from Libya. (AP Photo/Mohamed Ben Khalifa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(26 of40)
Migrants hold up their train tickets outside the Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015. The station continues to be closed to migrants, other passengers are allowed to enter and trains operate according to schedule. (Zoltan Balogh/MTI via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(27 of40)
Migrants are helped to board on the Norwegian Siem Pilot ship during a rescue operation off the Libyan Coasts, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. Four dead bodies and hundreds of migrants were transferred on the Norwegian Siem Pilot ship from an Italian Navy ship and a Doctor Without Borders vessels after being rescued in different operations in the mediterranean sea. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(28 of40)
A young man sleeps in a window as migrants rest near the Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, after police stopped them from getting on trains to Germany. Over 150,000 migrants have reached Hungary this year, most coming through the southern border with Serbia. Many apply for asylum but quickly try to leave for richer EU countries. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(29 of40)
Migrants charge their mobile phones outside the Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015. The station continues to be closed to migrants, other passengers are allowed to enter and trains operate according to schedule. (Zoltan Balogh/MTI via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(30 of40)
Migrants shout slogans in front of the Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, as hundreds demanded to be let on trains to Germany. Over 150,000 migrants have reached Hungary this year, most coming through the southern border with Serbia. Many apply for asylum but quickly try to leave for richer EU countries. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(31 of40)
Migrants hold up their train tickets outside the Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015. The station continues to be closed to migrants, other passengers are allowed to enter and trains operate according to schedule. (Zoltan Balogh/MTI via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(32 of40)
GEVGELIJA, MACEDONIA - SEPTEMBER 2: Migrants wait at the Greek-Macedonian border to cross into Macedonia on September 02, 2015 near Gevgelija. (Photo by Ilin Nikolovski/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(33 of40)
GEVGELIJA, MACEDONIA - SEPTEMBER 2: Migrants cross the Greek-Macedonian border near Gevgelija, Macedonia on September 02, 2015. (Photo by Ilin Nikolovski/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(34 of40)
GEVGELIJA, MACEDONIA - SEPTEMBER 2: Migrants cross the Greek-Macedonian border near Gevgelija, Macedonia on September 02, 2015. (Photo by Ilin Nikolovski/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(35 of40)
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - SEPTEMBER 02: A young Syrian girl holds up a sign as migrants protest outside Keleti station which remains closed to them in central Budapest on September 2, 2015 in Budapest, Hungary. The station was closed yesterday in what was said to be an attempt by the Hungarian government to uphold EU law and restore order after recent choatic scenes at the station as migrants attempted to board trains to other parts of Europe. According to the Hungarian authorities a record number of migrants from many parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia are crossing the border from Serbia. Since the beginning of 2015 the number of migrants using the so-called Balkans route has exploded with migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey and then travelling on through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the EU via Hungary. The massive increase, said to be the largest migration of people since World War II, led Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban to order Hungary's army to build a steel and barbed wire security barrier along its entire border with Serbia, after more than 100,000 asylum seekers from a variety of countries and war zones entered the country so far this year. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) (credit:Matt Cardy via Getty Images)
(36 of40)
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - SEPTEMBER 02: Migrants protest outside Keleti station which remains closed to them in central Budapest on September 2, 2015 in Budapest, Hungary. The station was closed yesterday in what was said to be an attempt by the Hungarian government to uphold EU law and restore order after recent choatic scenes at the station as migrants attempted to board trains to other parts of Europe. According to the Hungarian authorities a record number of migrants from many parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia are crossing the border from Serbia. Since the beginning of 2015 the number of migrants using the so-called Balkans route has exploded with migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey and then travelling on through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the EU via Hungary. The massive increase, said to be the largest migration of people since World War II, led Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban to order Hungary's army to build a steel and barbed wire security barrier along its entire border with Serbia, after more than 100,000 asylum seekers from a variety of countries and war zones entered the country so far this year. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) (credit:Matt Cardy via Getty Images)
(37 of40)
Migrants are helped to board on the Norwegian Siem Pilot ship during a migrant search and rescue mission off the Libyan Coasts, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. Four dead bodies and hundreds of migrants were transferred on the Norwegian Siem Pilot ship from an Italian Navy ship and a Doctor Without Borders vessel after being rescued in different operations in the Mediterranean sea. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(38 of40)
Migrants crowd the main deck of the Norwegian Siem Pilot ship after being rescued off the Libyan Coasts, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. Four dead bodies and hundreds of migrants were transferred on the Norwegian Siem Pilot ship from an Italian Navy ship and a Doctor Without Borders vessels after being rescued in different operation in the Mediterranean sea. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(39 of40)
Migrants are helped to board on the Norwegian Siem Pilot ship during a migrant search and rescue mission off the Libyan Coasts, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. Four dead bodies and hundreds of migrants were transferred on the Norwegian Siem Pilot ship from an Italian Navy ship and a Doctor Without Borders vessels after being rescued in different operation in the mediterranean sea. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(40 of40)
Women from a group of Syrian migrants who refused to board a train to the Debrecen refugee camp gesture as police officers block them on the platform of the Kobanya-Kispest station, Budapest suburb, on September 2, 2015. Hungarian authorities face mounting anger from thousands of migrants who are unable to board trains to western European countries after the main Budapest station was closed. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ATTILA KISBENEDEK via Getty Images)