BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The director of a Spanish research center says a giant telescope, costing $1.4 billion, is one step nearer to being built on the Canary Islands in the event an international consortium gives up its plans to build it in Hawaii.

Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute Director Rafael Rebolo has told The Associated Press that a building permit for the telescope has been granted by the town of Puntagorda on the island of La Palma.

He said “there are no more building permits needed according to Spanish legislation.”

The international consortium backing the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope wants to build it atop Hawaii’s tallest peak. But some native Hawaiians consider the Mauna Kea summit sacred and their protests have stopped construction from going ahead since mid-July.