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Pakistan will replace its leased Paksat-I satellite with the new Geo-Synchronous Orbit (GSO) satellite, for which an agreement will be signed with a foreign firm, official sources told Business Recorder.
The project, Pakistan Telecommunication Satellite System (Paksat-IR) , worth Rs 17.594 billion, will be considered by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) in its meeting on March 26.
Sources said the prime objective of the project is to design, develop/manufacture and launch a GSO communication satellite to replace the existing leased satellite Paksat-I, located at 38° East, by early 2011. The new communication satellite (Paksat -1R) will have 30 transponders, 12 in C-Band and 18 in Ku-Band, each of 36 MHz Bandwidth, they added. They said that the strategic objectives of the project are (i) to enter into a long-term relationship with the satellite manufacturer for acquiring know-how and transfer of technology (KHTT) to produce various kinds of satellites in future, with the ultimate aim of achieving self-reliance in this field/area; (ii) to establish, maintain and operate necessary satellite ground control stations for controlling Paksat-1R from within Pakistan; (iii) encourage participation of local industry in this project to the maximum feasible extent; (iv) design, assembly, integration and testing of both space and ground segments and gradually move towards undertaking the same activities for all subsystems of communication satellite; and (v) through Paksat Intl (Pvt) Ltd, market Paksat -1R transponder capacity to government and private sectors at competitive prices.
Sources said that the project is in line with the MTDF 2005-10 objectives and would provide better satellite communications for Pakistan. The project is planned to be financed through federal PSDP, ie, 15 percent of contract value of $222.26 million and 85 percent of contract value through long-term concessional foreign loan.
According to sources, the project would increase the teledensity and would introduce the latest satellite communication facilities in the country. Ecnec Chairman had granted anticipatory approval of Rs1089.176 million, including foreign exchange component (FEC) of Rs 894.323 million on May 21, 2008.
Sources said the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) considered the project in its meeting on April 30, 2008 and recommended that Suparco and Strategic Planning Division (SPD) will jointly endeavour to strike the best deal, keeping in view the quality of satellite and its related accessories, etc.
They said that a proper agreement would be signed with the manufacturers for the transfer of technology and training of the Supraco team. Suparco will hire best manpower for best possible technology transfer. According to sources, an independent project monitoring group, comprising representatives from Finance Division, Planning Commission and SPD, will oversee the project properly.
SPD would not only take due diligence of the scope, technical specifications and associated costs of the project, but would also ensure maximum transparency in the tendering, contracting/ procurement processes.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2009

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