China throws successfully a communications satellite for Nigeria, the first one of his type in Africa and the first time that a foreign buyer acquires a Chinese satellite and his throwing service at the same time

The Nigcomsat-1 is a geostationary super-hybrid designed to operate in Africa, some areas of Middle East and the south of Europe.

A ministerial delegation of the Nigerian government was present at the throwing ceremony in the Center of Throwing of Satellites of Xichang, Chinese north-western Sichuan province.

The throwing realized across a rocket shuttle 'Long March 3-B' spent a minute after today began and 26 minutes later it was already in orbit.

The satellite will change his positions into orbit until it is fixed to a length of 42nd East.

It is waited that between in operations before the ends of the year and there has a period of life of fifteen years.

The satellite will be controlled and traced from a terraqueous station that will be constructed in Abuya, Nigerian capital, by the Chinese signature Great Wall Industry Corporation (that also will give the services of support and trailing), and by another Chinese station located in Kashgar, in the western autonomous region of Xinjiang.

It is foreseen that the Abuya station turns Nigeria into a neuralgic center in the region centroafricana and stimulates to the nearby countries to expand his exchange facilities to handle the international traffic.

The experts believe that this satellites program will revolutionize the services of telecommunications, emission and wide band in Africa.

The Chinese state agency pointed out that this project will create more than 150.000 jobs in Nigeria, it will save the users of wide band more than 95 million dollars every year and 660 millions in called phone companhies and will provide access to Internet to the most remote peoples of the African country.

Others of his applications it will be the commerce across Internet, the progress of the governmental efficiency and the promotion of the development of a digital economy in Nigeria and the rest of the continent.

The Project Manager Nigcomsat-1, Hammed Rufai, indicated that the satellite will help Nigeria not to depend so much on his petroleum resources and to transform to the country in an economy based on the knowledge.


(14/05/07)