CANBERRA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- A multi-million dollar astronomy research center opened in Western Australia (WA) on Tuesday, with backers hoping it would boost the nation's bid to secure the world's largest telescope.

    The International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) is designed to underpin the country's campaign to build the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), which could one day help unlock the secrets of the universe.

    Funded primarily by Curtin University and the University of Western Australia, the 100 million Australian dollars (84 million U.S. dollars) center hopes to attract astronomy experts to Perth.

    WA Premier Colin Barnett said the ICRAR would show Australia and the state were capable of delivering world-class technology and facilities.

    South Africa and Australia are vying to build and house the 2.5billion Australian dollars (2.1 billion U.S. dollars) SKA project, which will provide radio telescopes to record radio waves from across the universe.

    It has been lauded as one of the world's most important science projects.

    The WA government invested 20 million Australian dollars (16.8 million U.S. dollars) to establish the ICRAR, which Barnett said would create "opportunities for local industry to participate in the wider SKA project".

    New Zealand is supporting Australia's bid to host the SKA project, which will be built between 2012 and 2020.