| We reproduce the statement issued by Robert Kirshner, Executive Director of the TMT International Observatory (TIO), regarding the decision by TIO partners not to accept the funding proposal put forward by Spain for the TMT site at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. |
Statement from TMT International Observatory on Spain’s Financing Proposal
“Following TIO's September 18 letter to Minister Morant, we want to share more about our decision. TIO’s partners gave Spain’s financing proposal extensive and careful consideration, and ultimately were not able to accept the proposal.
Therefore, TIO is not currently pursuing Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, although we acknowledge that the Spanish proposal was innovative and robust. TIO will continue to respectfully pursue siting TMT at its primary site in Hawaiʻi. Financing a project of TMT’s scale across several countries and a 50-year lifespan is complex. Those were our challenges to resolve, not Spain’s. To be clear, TIO’s decision does not reflect any shortcoming in the work of the Spanish team.
TIO pursued this proposal in earnest. Over many months, our teams worked with Spanish colleagues on engineering, cost and schedule for the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory.
We thank Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities Diana Morant for her leadership in bringing this proposal forward. We are especially grateful to Secretary General Eva Ortega Paíno, CDTI Director General José Moisés Martín Carretero and IAC Director Valentín Martínez Pillet, along with their colleagues at the Ministry, CDTI, the EIB and ICO. Throughout, they worked with us with rigor, creativity and good faith, listening closely to our partners’ concerns and consistently looking for ways to address them. Their commitment to this project was extraordinary, and we are deeply grateful for their sustained efforts.
We thank the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo de La Palma for their support of the project.
This outcome does not diminish TIO’s appreciation for Spain’s remarkable commitment to the project, the scientific excellence of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, or the international standing of the IAC. We value our relationship with Spain and welcome continued dialog on scientific collaboration.”
— Robert Kirshner, Executive Director, TMT International Observatory
