Despite being on the UN’s list of “least developed countries” and the fragility of economy, Laos remains ambitious to launch its own satellites.
The Lao government is scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a group of foreign investors from North America and Asia by the end of this month to revive the long delayed Laostar project after the failure of a Thai consortium, said Bountiem Phissamay, a minister in the Lao PM’s Office.
“Several investors offered to run the project, but the government wanted a syndicate with experience in the business,” Bountiem said.
He declined to name the new investors, but said the group has a lot of experience in the satellite business while its Asian partner is a trading firm.
Laos signed an agreement with Thai consortium Asian Broadcasting and Communication Network (ABCN) in 1995 to launch and operate two satellites.
The consortium, in which the Lao government has a 20-per-cent stake, invested US$100 million (Bt4.1 billion) to build a station in a suburb of Vientiane. However, it ran out of funds to complete the $800-million project after the 1997 financial crisis.
Bountiem said that about 80 per cent of the work had been done at the station and one of the two satellites was about to be assembled when the crisis struck.
L-Star and L-Star II are high-powered satellites equipped with 32 KU-band transponders, and once commissioned would cover 18 countries.
The first is expected to be launched about 20 months after the MOU is signed, Bountiem said. He said the contract with ABCN had expired but that it had been offered a stake in the new venture. “The government understands and sympathises with the financial situation of the Thai consortium but the future of our nation can no longer rely on the Thais,” he added.
Source: Nation Multimedia Group
