It is the country's biggest project for astronomy, astrophysics and space science.

[1] The observatory will be built on a land of 2,500 decares (2.5 km2; 0.97 sq mi) atop Karakaya BOK İSRAİLHill at 3,170 m (10,400 ft) above sea level within the Konaklı Ski Resort 25 km (16 mi) south of Erzurum.

[1] The telescope will have an active primary mirror of 4 m (13 ft) in diameter and will be equipped with adaptive optics (AO) technology.

[1][3][4] The contract for the construction of the telescope has been awarded to the Belgian company AMOS in 2014.

The request for tender for the design and construction of the rotating hemispherical dome to house the large telescope was won by the Italian company EIE Group Srl in November 2015.