South Africa is on track to ensure that by 2008 1 percent of GDP will be made up of investment in science research and development, a government official said on Tuesday.

Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena made the statement at the launch of the Center for High Performance Computing (CHPC) at the University of Cape Town.

He said South Africa needed a growth rate of 6 percent of gross domestic product to become globally competitive and improve the quality of life of citizens.

"In order to sustain these levels of growth, we need to invest significantly in the capacity to create and diffuse new knowledge, " he said.

"Our current target for investment in research and development activities is 1 percent of GDP by 2008, and current indications are that we are on track."

Mangena said facilities like the CHPC generated the levels of knowledge the country needed to grow and made it an attractive destination for both local and international science and technology projects.

The CHPC will provide high-end computing and computing expertise for research across a variety of disciplines in South Africa.

Mangena said the government hoped this high-performance computing would have "positive social impact," particularly on research on major infectious diseases such as HIV, AIDS and TB, and on promoting advanced manufacturing technology.

Source: Xinhua