The Karoo region of the Northern Cape Province is ideal for radio astronomy because it is remote and sparsely populated, with a very dry climate. There is minimal radio-frequency interference from man-made sources such as mobile phones, broadcasting and air traffic.

It is no surprise, then, that the Northern Cape and Australia have emerged as competing bidders to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, a 1.5-billion euro international collaboration that will see an array of antenna stations being built to collect data from one million square kilometres of space. The decision on location will be made in 2009/10.

The Karoo Array Telescope (dubbed MeerKAT), was at the time of writing being designed and built in stages in the Karoo in the Northern Cape. When complete, it could emerge as a key component of the SKA if the South African bid is successful. If it isn't, the MeerKAT is, in itself, highly strategic in South Africa's space-science agenda.

MeerKAT is a play on the colloquial name of a small Southern African mongoose and the Afrikaans word meer, meaning 'more', hinting at its size. According to SKA South Africa, MeerKAT will address questions about cosmic magnetism, the evolution of galaxies and largescale structures in the universe, dark matter and the nature of transient radio sources.

The MeerKAT radio telescope, which will consist of up to 80 dish antennae, will be the biggest scientific instrument ever to be built in South Africa. The telescope will be constructed in phases, the first of which - called KAT-7 - is expected to be completed by the end of 2009 or early 2010. KAT-7 will consist of a seven-dish engineering test bed and is currently being constructed near Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. A high-speed data-transfer network will link the telescope site in the Karoo to a remote operations facility. The full array of dishes should be functional by 2012.

Construction began after March 2008, when the project purchased 14 000 hectares of Karoo land west of Carnarvon. Subsequently, roads have been built and a support base established at Klerefontein, 11km from Carnarvon. The base has accommodation and workshops for the scientists, technicians and engineers working on the project. An agreement has also been made with Eskom to put in a 33kV power line from Carnarvon to the MeerKAT site. The tender for the seven dishes for KAT-7 was awarded to Land Systems Dynamics.

The SKA South Africa Project, with the backing of the national Department of Science and Technology, is overseeing MeerKAT as well as the country's bid for the SKA. Other participants in the MeerKAT project include the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory and the South African Astronomical Observatory, as well as various engineers and astronomers around the world.

According to SKA South Africa, MeerKAT will be one of the world's premier mid-frequency radio astronomy facilities, putting South Africa at the cutting edge of radio astronomy.

South Africa, in collaboration with countries all over the world, has to develop new technologies in order to support and fully realise MeerKAT and the SKA. The number of technological innovations that are emerging from this project is astronomical in its own right. One example is the use of composites in the construction of the XDM dish at Hartebeesthoek: up until now, all radio-telescope dishes were made entirely out of metal. The use of composites should significantly reduce the cost of the dishes.

The South African government has committed R860-million to the SKA effort in South Africa, which includes the design and construction of MeerKAT.