The world's largest radio telescope will be completed in China and start operation on Sunday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, or FAST, is the world's largest radio telescope, CCTV said.

The project was started in 2011 and technicians began assembling the telescope last July.

The telescope is placed deep in the mountains of southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Qian Lei, associate researcher of National Astronomical Observatories of China, said FAST will serve as an useful tool for scientists to detect radio waves, and further explore the universe, the state media reported.

CCTV said FAST, which highlights China's ambitions in space programme, will be able to detect radio signals from distant planets.

Last week, Beijing launched the Tiangong-2 space lab and it is also set for its longest crewed mission in October aboard the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft.