The telecom regulator has signed a Tk 1951.75 crore deal with
Thales Alenia Space, awarding the French company a work order for commercial and broadcast satellite Bangabandhu-1.
The deal was signed between
Shahjahan Mahmood, chairman of
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC);
and Jean-Loïc Galle, chairman and chief executive officer of the French
space agency, at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka this morning.
Tarana
Halim, state minister for post and telecommunication, and Imran Ahmed,
president of parliamentary standing committee on post, telecommunication
and information technology ministry, attended the programme as chief
and special guests.
“This contract is a final step towards fulfillment of our long
cherished dream of launching the first satellite of Bangladesh
“Bangabandhu Satellite – I,” the state minister said in her speech.
“I feel proud to mention that with the launch of Bangabandhu
Satellite, Bangladesh will become the 57th member of the exclusive club
of satellite owning country, Tarana added.
Among others, French Ambassador Sophie Aubert was present at the programme.
On
October 20, the cabinet purchase committee approved a proposal in
favour of Thales Alenia at a price of $248 million (about Tk 1,951
crore), which will be used for telecommunication and broadcast purposes,
as all other participants became non-responsive during the bidding
process.
Two US companies Boeing and Orbital, Canada's MDA
Corporation and Chinese company China Great Wall Industry Corporation
were all running for the bid initially.
The government wants to
launch the satellite on December 16, 2017, marking the country's 45th
Victory Day, said a senior official of BTRC.
On January 15, the government purchased a 119.1 east longitude
orbital slot from Russia-based Intersputnik for 15 years at a cost of Tk
218.96 crore.
