Back in September Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris took to Twitter TWTR +3.85% to propose buying an island from Greece or Italy to house migrants and refugees. The tweet went viral and his proposal received such a positive response that Sawiris, Africa’s 10th richest man with a fortune of $3 billion, announced plans in September to receive public donations for the project by establishing 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 a Nov. 18 email from Sawiris’ spokesperson. “But due to the delicacy of the issue he has not disclosed specific reasons for his optimism.”
The net of islands he’s considering buying has widened since Sawiris’ September announcement that he’d identified two private islands. According to the spokesperson, he’s now studying the potential of 17 Greek islands 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. (Pictures of the boy were featured online and in newspapers around the world.) Neither the Greek government nor the UN Refugee Agency have responded to FORBES’ request for comment.
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.