What construction cost did the Chinese Academy of Sciences estimate for FAST in July 2016?
The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, occupies a natural basin in Guizhou, China. As the last reflector panels were installed in July 2016, the Chinese Academy of Sciences estimated the completed observatory would cost 1.15 billion yuan. That contemporaneous construction estimate is distinct from later rounded reports of roughly 1.2 billion yuan and from annual operation of the telescope.
Published project estimate
CNY 1.15 billion
Approximately $173.08 million
Cost basis: 2016
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Cost evidence
Basis of the published figure
Published project estimate2016