Bangladesh is set to launch an open tender for its first satellite before the end of the year, after approving a Tk 29.68bn (US$374m) budget that includes tax.
The go-ahead comes as the country reportedly nears a deal to buy an orbital slot from…
Bangladesh is set to launch an open tender for its first satellite before the end of the year, after approving a Tk 29.68bn (US$374m) budget that includes tax.
The go-ahead comes as the country reportedly nears a deal to buy an orbital slot from Intersputnik, the Moscow-based intergovernmental capacity provider.
An earlier attempt by the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to buy the 119.1E slot for US$28m was shot down by its finance ministry, reported the Dhaka Tribune.
BTRC and Intersputnik could not be reached by the press deadline.
Bangladesh has been trying to order its first satellite, dubbed Bangabandu 1, for several years under its own ITU filings. But it is still in the coordination station for its orbital positions, which include 69E and 102E.
Citing sources, the Dhaka Tribune claimed that China Great Wall Industry Corporation had approached BTRC back in March with an offer for the satellite, including a loan from the Chinese Exim Bank.
Proposals have also come from the US Ex-Im Bank, HSBC France, Japan Bank for International Corporation, and the CWG Gulf International of the UK, added the report.
However, it cited a senior BTRC official as saying the project had been complicated by disagreements between the regulator and the finance ministry.
According to BTRC’s website, the new satellite will hold 24 Ku and 16 C band transponders for DTH, VSAT, backhaul and trunking, network restoration, disaster preparedness and relief.
It appointed US-based consultancy firm Space Partnership International in March 2012 to help with the project, and the group is currently finalising the tender documents.
Others join the race for space
Bangladesh is part of an ever-growing list of countries looking to order their first satellite.
Romania’s minister for information was yesterday quoted saying his country will develop a plan for its first bird in 2015, and hopes to launch it in three to four years.
Răzvan Cotovelea told a conference in Bucharest that the satellite would be used by both the ministry of defence and private companies, according to a report from Romania’s national news agency Agerpres.
He reportedly added that it could be built by companies from France, the US or Russia, and would cost between €70m and €80m (US$89m-US$102m).
Meanwhile Nigeria could be looking to take a step further and design, fabricate, test and launch an indigenous satellite by 2018, according to a local report citing Abdu Bulama, its minister of science and technology.
