Spain offers 400 million euros to host the TMT telescope on La Palma.

The government has committed to hosting the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on La Palma . It has offered €400 million for this purpose . "It is one of the most ambitious investments in our recent scientific history," stated Science Minister Diana Morant. It was originally planned to be installed in Hawaii, but this month, the United States finally withdrew funding for it.

"Spain has never invested so much in research. It has never had such a capacity to attract talent, and it has never been a better country for science," Morant declared in an appearance from the island of La Palma. The minister boasted that the current government is doing "more and better than ever."

As she explained, the offer will be made through the Center for Technological Development and Innovation. On Wednesday afternoon, the minister specified, a formal proposal was submitted for Spain to host this TMT. "Spain wants and can be the headquarters of the future of astronomy and astrophysics. We have the capacity and the political will to do so," she stated.

Just last week, Coalición Canaria senator Pedro San Ginés presented a motion to the Senate's Science, Innovation, and Universities Committee urging the Spanish government to "strongly promote" the candidacy of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM) as the site of this TMT.

This project is considered one of the most ambitious in global science. Currently, there are only two possible locations to host it: the Canary Islands and Hawaii.

The island of La Palma had already been selected in 2016 as an "optimal alternative" to host this TMT, as San Ginés recalled in statements reported by Europa Press. "It would be a true economic and social boost" for the island, he stated. Along similar lines, Morant emphasized this Wednesday that, if the project is completed, it will not only bring with it the construction of the telescope, but also "decades of scientific operations, the creation of skilled employment, and an economic and social boost for the island."

"It's not just a scientific opportunity; it's a question of the country's vision and commitment to the outermost Spain that wants to be at the forefront of global knowledge," the Canary Islands senator concluded last week.