The LAPAN had disseminated information on the construction plan to the local community."
Kupang (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government will spend trillions to build a giant national space observatory on Mount Timau, Amfoang Tengah Sub-district, Kupang District, East Nusa Tenggara Province.

Head of Kupang District Governments Public Relations Stephen Baha informed ANTARA News in the capital city of Kupang, Oelamasi, on Tuesday that the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) had identified Mount Timau as a strategic location for conducting space observations.

The giant observatory on Mount Timau will be the largest of its kind in Indonesia and will replace the Boscha Observatory, which was built over nine decades ago in Lembang District, West Java Province.

"According to the study on Mount Timau conducted by LAPAN, Lembang District was not an ideal location for conducting space observation due to the high density of residential areas," Baha noted here.

Head of Indonesian LAPAN Thomas Jamaludin had visited Mount Timau and had spread information on the observatorys construction plan among the Amfoang Tengah Sub-districts community members on May 21, 2016.

"The LAPAN had disseminated information on the construction plan to the local community. The construction of the observatory will begin in 2017 by spending funds worth trillions. Of course, the presence of this vital object will have a direct impact on the local development," he pointed out.

The construction of the observatory on Mount Timau was targeted for completion in 2019 and will be operational for over a century to support developments in science and technology related to research activities of the solar system.

"Researchers from different countries will come to this site to conduct research on solar system activities in the interest of science and technology. Therefore, the support of the local community for the construction of the observatory is very important as its presence will have a positive impact in developing and expanding the local economy rapidly," Baha added.

(Reported by Benidiktus Jahang/Uu.M052/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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