Billions of rands are expected to pour into South Africa when the construction of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in the Northern Cape starts in 2018, the Select Committee on Trade and International Relations has wowed.

Chairperson Eddie Makue on Wednesday welcomed Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor’s assurance that the project would attract in excess of R30-billion into the country.

“It is evidently clear that the SKA project is not only for science practitioners, but also of benefit to ordinary people, particularly in one of South Africa’s most rural and underdeveloped provinces,” Makue said in a statement.

The MeerKat project, which would be functional by 2016, would also attract investment of more than R7-billion.