Maldivian island offered to Egyptian billionaire to house refugees

The son of a prominent businessman in the Maldives has offered up an island to an Egyptian telecom mogul who has said he wants to buy an island for hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

Muad Mohamad Zaki told Vice News that Egypt's second-richest man, Naguib Sawiris, could buy his family's island in the tropical nation of the Maldives, a series of atolls comprising hundreds of islands in the Indian ocean.

"If he is interested he can use our island, though it's only 9.1 hectares. If he's serious, we can arrange a meeting here with the government." he said.

Zaki said the Maldives had several unpopulated islands that could be used, adding that he emailed Sawiris on Thursday, but had not yet heard back.

Last week, Sawiris tweeted: "Greece or Italy, sell me an island, I'll call it independence and host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country."

Naguib Sawiris has since confirmed that his offer was genuine.

"You have dozens of islands which are deserted and could accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees," Sawiris told AFP.

There would be "temporary shelters to house the people, then you start employing the people to build housing, schools, universities, hospitals".

"And if things improve, whoever wants to go back [to their homeland] goes back," he added.

The proposed island state even has a new name - "Aylan Island", after Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian who washed up on a Turkish beach after trying to escape to Europe with his family and whose death garnered global attention.

Germany said it could take half a million refugees annually over several years as Greek islands struggle to process a huge backlog of migrants desperate to travel to western Europe.