DHAKA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Bangladeshi government has been preparing for launching the country's second satellite following the successful placement of the first one last month.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the announcement during a question-answer session at the parliament on Wednesday.
She said preparations are underway for the country's second communication satellite "Bangabandhu-2."
"We need to have second satellite so that it can replace the first one when it becomes obsolete. And we've to prepare from now on as the process for a satellite takes at least five to six years to complete."
She said Bangladesh will go for "Bangabandhu-3" after the second one.
May 12 this year is a red-letter day for Bangladesh when the country ushered in a new era by launching its first "Bangabandhu-1" satellite.
The launch made Bangladesh the 57th nation in the world and fourth in South Asia after India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to own a satellite.
In September 2016, Bangladesh signed a 14-billion-taka (about 180 million U.S. dollars) loan agreement with the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) to finance the country's first-ever satellite "Bangabandhu-I."
In November 2015, Bangladesh signed a 19.51-billion-taka (about 248 million U.S. dollars) deal with French firm Thales Alenia Space for the satellite project.
The Bangladeshi government has purchased a 119.1 east longitude orbital slot from Russia-based Intersputnik for 15 years for 28 million U.S. dollars.