Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.9 / Trend, H.Veliyev /
A loan agreement worth about $80 million to launch the first Azerbaijani telecommunication satellite Azerspace into orbit is expected to be signed in late September, a source close to the project told Trend on Tuesday.
At present, work on preparation of the contract is under completion.
The negotiations on the loan from the French export credit agency COFASE have been already held with French banks Sosiete Generale and SMBC.
The cost of launching the satellite is $94 million, 85 percent of which will be provided to the Azerbaijani side in the form of a loan, and the remaining 15 percent will be paid by state funds.
The deal will be financed with a two-year period for the use of funds and a ten-year repayment period. At present, negotiations are underway on interest rate of the loan.
Azerspace's manufacturer is Orbital Sciences Corporation. An orbital position of 46 degrees east longitude has been leased from Malaysian satellite operator MEASAT. French Arianspace will send the satellite into orbit.