Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 2 / Trend H.Valiyev /
Azerbaijan and the US Ex-Im and French bank of BNP Paribas signed a loan agreement to construct the first Azerbaijani telecommunication satellite Azerspace, a source close the project told Trend. The satellite will be launched by late 2012.
The loan worth $116.6 million will be allocated by the US Ex -Im to Azerbaijan based on funds borrowed from the French bank of BNP Paribas.
The cost of manufacturing the satellite is $120 million, 85 percent of which will be provided to the Azerbaijani side in the form of a US Ex-Im loan, and the remaining 15 percent will be paid by state funds.
The loan will be issued with a two-year period for the use of funds and a ten-year repayment period.
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.