The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in its draft business proposal said the country’s first satellite Bangabandhu-1, a project costing Tk3,243 crore, will reach its breakeven within seven years of its launch.
The BTRC placed the proposal before Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, at his office yesterday.
According to the BTRC’s presentation, Bangabandhu-1 satellite can save at least $14 million every year, which was now being paid to different foreign satellite companies by the country’s 24 television channels for transmission.
The BTRC’s presentation also reads that 70% of the income revenue would come from neighbouring countries while the rest will be from local sources.
“We are expecting that more investment will come through Bangabandhu satellite project,” Abul Maal Abdul Muhith told the journalists after the purchase committee meeting.
Sources also said that participants of the meeting raised questions on the BRTC’s proposal.
A source in the meeting quoted participants as saying: “How do you calculate that neighbouring countries, like India and Thailand, will give you the business as they already have their own satellites? Can you make it mandatory for the local televisions to buy satellite connectivity from you?”
In reply, BTRC said though some neighbouring countries have their own satellite, they still need more connectivity and at the same time, if private televisions come even after two years into the launching, it will not be a problem.
Earlier, BTRC drafted a project costing Tk3,243 crore, where BTRC will finance Tk1,555 crore while the rest will come from foreign sources.
Six international banks and institutions had expressed interest in financing the satellite project.
Earlier in January 2012, Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the Tk30billion project, which will start from July 1 this year and will be completed by June 30, 2016. Ecnec initially had set the timeframe for the project from July 2011 to June 2015.
During the meeting, the finance minister also suggested the telecom regulator to inform him, within a short time, on the challenges regarding the launching of the Bangabandhu-1.
The Dhaka Tribune has found that the project director and the consultants of the project were engaged in a series of meetings even at evening.
Meeting source also added that the telecom regulator was in a hurry to ink a deal with Inter-Sputnik, a Russian satellite company.
The BTRC will purchase an orbital slot on 119 degree East from Inter-Sputnik, at a cost of $2.8m (Tk22 crore) with a single lifetime of 15 years.
