Statement from TMT International Observatory on Spain’s Financing Proposal
TMT News Release, September 29th, 2026
“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, 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
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The IAC remains fully committed to the development of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory following the TMT decision
News release from Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 09/21/2026
On 18 September 2026, the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU) received a communication from the Executive Director of the TMT International Observatory (TIO) stating that its partners had been unable to reach the consensus required to accept the financial offer presented by the Ministry on 29 July to begin construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM) on the island of La Palma.
The proposal envisaged financing of up to €1 billion: a contribution from the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology and Innovation (CDTI), structured through an equity participation model, and a loan involving the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Spain’s Official Credit Institute (ICO).
Over the past decade, the IAC has worked closely and continuously with TIO teams to make it possible to locate the TMT at the ORM. In 2025, under the leadership of the MICIU, this effort led to the formulation of an offer involving the CDTI that included €400 million in financing for the construction of the telescope on La Palma.
To cover the project’s remaining financial requirements, the IAC began discussions with the EIB in early 2025. These efforts, supported and closely followed by the MICIU and the CDTI, made it possible to structure an additional €600 million in financing through a loan involving the ICO.
On the basis of these financial instruments, and working closely with TIO staff and the European institutions, the Ministry presented a proposal of up to €1 billion in July of this year. The proposal was intended to cover the project’s financing requirements and incorporated the conditions established by the participating financial institutions. This is the financial proposal on which the members of the organization did not reach consensus following its assessment and vote. Consequently, the steps required to begin construction of the telescope at the ORM will not be undertaken in the short term.
The IAC wishes to acknowledge the dedication and professionalism of the teams at the MICIU, the CDTI, the EIB and the ICO, whose work made it possible to put together a financial offer of this magnitude within an extraordinarily short period. We would particularly like to thank the General Secretariat for Research, the diplomatic missions under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation that it mobilized, the Directorate-General of the CDTI, and the EIB representation in Madrid for their support and confidence.
For the IAC, the strong backing shown by the Canary Islands institutions, which have consistently expressed their support for the construction of the telescope on La Palma, is also a source of profound pride. We would particularly like to recognize the commitment of the municipalities of Garafía and Puntagorda, the Cabildo Insular de La Palma, the Government of the Canary Islands, the University of La Laguna and, most especially, the wider communities of La Palma and the Canary Islands. Their exceptional welcome for scientific projects and infrastructure at the Canary Islands Observatories is an essential part of what makes the Canary Islands a unique location for astronomy worldwide. This support for science carried out in the Canary Islands, unparalleled on the international scientific landscape, reinforces the IAC’s commitment to continue working to ensure that Spain maintains a leading position in the astronomy of the future.
Finally, the IAC wishes to reiterate that the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory remains one of the world’s finest astronomical sites. The Institute remains fully committed to the scientific and technological development of the Observatory and will continue to promote the installation of new internationally significant research infrastructure, including the medium-sized telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) and the European Solar Telescope (EST).
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