A small, sparsely populated island near migrant-crisis city Malmo in southern Sweden is to play host to a significant migrant centre that could net the owners millions of Swedish Kronor.

The Kristianstad municipality in the Swedish county of Skåne is opposing the move, which would see a significant 2,000-man facility of “modular housing” established on the small island of Ivö to house newly arrived migrants.

It is reported the plan to create the migrant accommodation is being launched by the Svenska Semesterhem company and could be contracted through the Swedish Migration Board, which distributes hundreds of millions of Kronor a year to accommodation providers. Swedish Television reports the development would take place in a campsite on the picturesque island, which is reachable only by ferry.

Opposing the plan, local Liberal councillor Pierre Mansson told local media: “It feels like an April Fool’s joke, and we will do everything we can to stop such a large housing [development]”. Writing to the all-powerful Migration Board, the councillor said: “It is a completely absurd proposal that should not have been accepted even in this first stage.”

Local resident Elisabeth Olsson said the island was too small for so many people, calling the development “completely ill-conceived”.

Responding to criticism a spokesman for the Board said although an award had been made to the housing company, a contract had not yet been signed as it was subject to planning permission and satisfying nature protection legislation.

The significant number of predominantly economic migrants who have travelled to Sweden over the course of the migrant crisis has put unprecedented pressure on Swedish housing and has left the government scrambling to find any beds to house the new arrivals. Ski resorts, hotels, and even cruise ships have been pressed into service over the past year.

Breitbart London reported last week that the rate of population growth in Sweden in the wake of the migrant crisis has actually been higher than projected by the government, which is now faced with having to build the equivalent of a new capital city in the next five years to house the migrants.