Pretoria - The announcement on which country will win the bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope is expected to take place next month, says Cabinet spokesperson Jimmy Manyi.
"Cabinet noted that the 4th April 2012 is a significant day on the national calendar as this is the day on which an announcement will be made on which country will host the [SKA]," said Manyi at a media briefing on Thursday following an ordinary Cabinet meeting.
South Africa and Australia are the only two bidders in the running to host the international mega telescope, which will be used to collect radio waves from space and explore the universe.
The SKA, which is about 50 - 100 times more sensitive than any other radio telescope on Earth, will consist of about 3 000 dish-shaped antennae spread over an area of over 3 000km.
The chosen site for the SKA is in the Karoo in the Northern Cape.
Manyi said Cabinet was confident that Africa was ready to host the SKA in Southern Africa and called on Africa's development partners and the global scientific community to support Africa's bid to host the SKA led by South Africa and further urges all to accept the results.
This science drive partnership is representative of Africa's commitment to establishing the continent as a significant player in the world of scientific discovery and innovation.
