After the Thirty Meter Telescope is built on Mauna Kea, it won’t be able to hold onto the title of world’s largest optical telescope for long.
Other large observatories, including a telescope with a 39-meter mirror in Chile, are planned and may be completed a few years afterward.
But Sandra Dawson, TMT spokeswoman, assured a luncheon of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaii on Tuesday that it will remain the most advanced.
“We feel we got the most advanced instruments,” she told Stephens Media Hawaii afterward.
The TMT project is supported by observatories and universities from Canada, Japan, China, India and the United States.
While the goal is to begin construction of the $1.3 billion project in April, its board is still waiting approval of funding from all its member countries.
Dawson said that is expected to be resolved at a meeting on Feb. 12.
A sublease with the University of Hawaii is also in the works. That is also needed before construction can begin.
Another hurdle will be a legal challenge of a construction permit granted by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
A group of six petitioners have opposed the project, citing impacts to the land and cultural resources.
Oral arguments will be made Dec. 13 in Third Circuit Court in Hilo.
Dawson told the group she is confident that hurdle would be overcome.
The telescope is expected to be finished in 2022.
Dawson also said TMT will spend $1 million a year on school scholarships for Big Isle students once construction begins.
She also said the telescope would help keep the island at the cutting-edge of astronomy and has potential to bring other industry to Hilo, including in the areas of optics and precision tooling.
She said the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has formed a “working group” focused on spurring new jobs and industries as a result of the TMT project.
The department could not be immediately reached for comment.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.