The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has allocated R2.1 billion to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, as work starts on building dishes for the prototype MeerKat aspect in earnest, it was revealed in the budget 2014 address this afternoon.
The multibillion-rand SKA project is moving towards completion of the prototype phase - MeerKat - which recently saw the last foundation poured for the 64-dish project. MeerKat will be incorporated into the SKA.
The first two MeerKat antennae are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013/14 and will be qualified and tested in 2014/15, with the entire system expected to be operational in 2016/17.
Construction on the SKA will start in 2017/18, with some elements operational by 2020, and full operation under way in 2025. DST says it will increase the number of MeerKat antennae from four this year to 27 next year and 31 by the end of the 2016/17 financial year.
The Square Kilometre Array Organisation awarded a large portion of the final Square Kilometre Array project to SA and its eight African partner countries. The balance of the development will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Boosting research
The DST has also allocated R683 million for research infrastructure in the next three years to provide the scientific community with equipment and facilities "to ensure the country's global competitiveness in research, development and innovation," notes National Treasury's Estimates of National Expenditure.
"The department will continue to strategically use the research and development infrastructure budget to support five infrastructure categories: cyber infrastructure, scientific equipment, specialised facilities, high-end infrastructure, and global infrastructure."
Some R159 million will go to the National Research Foundation for the national equipment and nanotechnology equipment programmes, R105 million towards specialised facilities, and R91 million to the national facilities of the National Research Foundation.
A further R24 million has been made available in the high-end infrastructure category for lithium battery development and titanium additive manufacturing laboratories and a primary titanium pilot plant.
Connected users
The department will also support cyber infrastructure by continuing to develop the High-Performance Computing Centre, where the user community has grown from less than 20 in 2007 to more than 500 in 2013, and the continued rollout of broadband connectivity to all research and academic institutions, through the South African National Research Network programme.
Some 40 research and academic sites were connected to the network in 2013/14, and all major campuses of the 23 higher education institutions, science councils, national facilities and publicly supported research institutions are now connected to the high-speed national backbone.
DST has allocated R632.4 million to cyber infrastructure over the next three years, focusing on increasing the average bandwidth per South African National Research Network site to 3 500Mbps, and increasing the user base, uptake and knowledge outputs of high-performance computing by 2016/17.
The department's overall budget will grow from R6.47 billion to R7.6 billion over the three-year period covered in the current budget.
Share