While government ministers and neighbouring African countries have confirmed their support for SA's bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, there are still concerns that not enough is being done to secure the bid.
SA is in a race with Australia to host the 1.5 billion-euro SKA radio telescope. However, funding shortages, battles with Telkom and possible delays of several crucial projects have marred the bid.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) says that, while progress has been made, government needs to understand the level of contributions required from bidders. So far, 15 countries are involved as potential funders of the SKA, and capital investments are expected to total two billion euro.
SA has spent R258 million since 2003 on securing the project. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) said R23 million was spent on universities, while R155 million had been spent building roads to the site. Another R11.5 million was spent on building accommodation.
While commitments from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and government to ensure the bid is successful are welcome, there are areas which could jeopardise the bid, says the DA.
“This is one project where SA cannot afford to fail. There needs to be prompt implementations and strict adherence to timelines... More needs to be done to secure the bid,” says the DA.
The final decision regarding the successful host country is expected in 2012. Work on the SKA is due to start in 2013, subject to successful funding proposals. It will be constructed in a phased manner, over seven years. Operations will start in 2015, provided a significant portion of the array has been commissioned.
The SKA is a mega telescope, about 100 times more sensitive than the biggest existing radio telescope. It will consist of approximately 3 000 dish-shaped antennae and other hybrid receiving technologies, with a core of about 2 000 antennas and outlying stations of 30 to 40 antennas each, spiralling out of the core. These stations will be spread over a vast area of up to 3 000km.
Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique and Namibia are to host remote SKA stations, the central location for which will be Carnarvon, in the Northern Cape.
Telkom troubles
The DST says that, while a large part of the funding will be spent in supplier countries, there will also be significant investment in the host country. The operating and maintenance costs of the SKA over a 20- to 30-year period are expected to amount to about 150 million euro per year.
The DA says that, while the investment from the project is a key attraction for government, the bid will not succeed if SA doesn't successfully demonstrate its capabilities through the Southern African Large Telescope (Salt).
The observatory is supposed to be a test case for SA, showing it can handle large science projects as a country. Salt is supposed to be fully commissioned in January. However, the line needed to transmit data to and from the telescope - and make its instrumentation available to scientists located in several other countries, such as the UK and US - is yet to be installed.
Telkom is supposed to install a 155Mbps line between Salt, situated in the Northwest Province, and the South African Astronomical Observatory, by December. However, Salt is urging Meraka Institute, the government agency that negotiates with Telkom, to delay the installation of the line until other operators can bid for it following price increases.
“This is no place for price wars. This project is bigger than just Telkom. The strategic partnerships, which government has entered into, cannot and will not stand for any delays - and possible failures,” says the DA.
Funding drama
In September, science and technology minister Naledi Pandor revealed the department had not budgeted for the bandwidth requirements for its radio telescope projects. The R80 million it will need for the projects had not been sourced or secured.
The department also revealed the South African National Research Network had requested additional funding to connect the MeerKAT site to the network.
The 80-dish MeerKAT telescope is pathfinders, which will contribute to the development of the technology required for the SKA.
“While SADC and government have said the SKA facility required financial and political contributions to ICT capacity and infrastructure, this has not been effectively followed through, as some of their projects indicate,” says the DA.
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