Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris is soldiering on with his idea of buying an island to host refugees and has already identified two private islands well-suited for the project.

“We have corresponded with their owners and expressed our interest to go into negotiation with them,” Sawiris said in a statement.

“I’ll make a small port or marina for the boats to land there. I’ll employ the people to build their own homes, their schools, a hospital, a university, a hotel,” he said. He added that he could employ between 100,000 and 200,000 refugees.

The epiphany moment came after he saw the photograph of Aylan Kurdi’s lifeless body washed ashore in Turkey after the fatal journey that was supposed to have taken his family to Greece. “I said — I cannot just sit like that and just do nothing, and pretend it’s not my problem.”

Sawiris said that he is seeking the Greek government’s permission for the program, however the Greek government says that no formal notice has been given.