Science and technology minister Derek Hanekom has welcomed an announcement by UK minister of state for universities and science, David Willetts, of a contribution of around R1.7 billion for the Square Kilometre Array project (SKA).
Hanekom explains the investment provides "impetus" for the implementation of the first phase of the project. "This is a most welcome commitment and reaffirms the global partnership of the SKA countries in this mega project."
Willetts visited the South African SKA site in the Northern Cape last September, accompanied by SKA SA project director Bernie Fanaroff.
The SKA project is a global scientific enterprise to build one of the largest scientific instruments ever envisaged. It is being designed to answer fundamental questions in physics, astronomy and cosmology, in order for scientists to understand the origin and workings of the universe better.
The South African government has made a contribution of close to R4 billion for the prototype MeerKAT project and associated human capital development programmes. South Africa is currently building the 64-dish MeerKAT radio telescope as a precursor to the SKA.
The MeerKAT, with a further 190 antennas to be built on the same site, will make up the first phase of the mid-frequency component of the SKA. The second phase of the SKA will see further mid-frequency antennas constructed across South Africa and in eight African SKA partner countries.
Complementary components of the SKA will be located in Australia, the co-host country of what will be the world's largest radio telescope. South Africa will launch its first MeerKAT antenna on 27 March and expects to complete the 64-dish array by 2016/17.
The Department of Science and Technology says the UK is a major player in the global SKA project, and is host to the head office of the SKA Organisation, located at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Manchester.
South Africa and the UK are already collaborating extensively in the field of radio astronomy, with 25 research organisations and more than 80 individual scientists from the UK directly involved in the large survey teams that will use the MeerKAT telescope for research during its first five years of operation.
This includes scientists from Oxford University and Manchester University. There is also extensive SKA-related cooperation on big data and high-performance computing with Cambridge University, which Hanekom visited in January.
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