South African minister of science and technology, Naledi Pandor, has said that the countrys bid for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope cost ZAR 1.1 billion (US$133.6 million)
The country had bid against Australia and New Zealand to win the right to locate the telescope. The project will be shared between South Africa and Australia, with South Africa hosting the majority of the project.
Pandor added that, besides the ZAR 1.1 billion (US$133.6 million) spent on the bid between 2003 and 2012, a further ZAR 895 million (US$108 million) has been allocated through the National Research Foundation for the project for the 2012-13 and 2014-15 financial years.
The target completion date for the SKA construction is 2024 and the total cost of completion will be made known after the design of the SKA is valued and approved.
The construction phase of the telescope is scheduled to start in 2016, with the second phase due to be carried out from 2019 to 2024.
"The post-2016 implementation costs of the SKA in Africa and Australia will be determined during the SKA pre-construction phase from 2012 to 2016," Pandor said.
The project is expected to contribute towards job creation in the science, engineering and mathematics fields. The bid has already provided 800 construction jobs in the Northern Cape, while a further 100 jobs are to be created later this year.
