France wants to finance second satellite

French company Thales Alenia Space is willing to design and build Bangladesh's second satellite while the French government wants to provide the finances as a loan, Telecom and ICT Minister Mustafa Jabbar said yesterday.

The proposals came at a meeting earlier in the afternoon with the French ambassador and the company representatives, Jabbar said in a post-budget discussion with the stakeholders organised by Bangladesh ICT Journalist Forum at Janata Towers Software Technology Park.

The country's first communications satellite, Bangabandhu-1, designed and built by Thales, was launched into space on a Falcon-9 rocket of SpaceX from Cape Canaveral, Florida on May 11 (May 12 in Bangladesh). Last week Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina revealed that the government has already started work to launch the second satellite, Bangabandhu-2, so that it could come into operation within Bangabandhu-1's 15-year lifespan. The work has started as it takes five to six years to prepare a satellite, said Jabbar.