By Emmanuel Ogbodo<\/p>\n
The Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) has started the process of replacing the country\u2019s satellite, NIGCOMSAT-1R, and is seeking global investors to support the project. Launched in 2011, NIGCOMSAT-1R is set to complete its 15-year lifespan in 2026.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, NIGCOMSAT\u2019s Managing Director, Mrs. Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, announced the replacement initiative. \u201cYou already know that Nigeria has a satellite in space, which has been operational since December 2011. As it nears the end of its life, we are taking proactive steps to ensure a timely replacement and have officially begun the process of replacing the existing NIGCOMSAT-1R. Now, we are calling for collaborators and investors to ensure the successful execution of this project,\u201d she said in a LinkedIn post.<\/p>\n
Egerton-Idehen mentioned that the call for expressions of interest has been published in the Global Satellite Operator\u2019s Association newsletter to attract global investors. The announcement reveals plans to launch two new satellites, NIGCOMSAT-2 and NIGCOMSAT-3. \u201cNIGCOMSAT has announced a crucial milestone in its mission to enhance satellite communications with the development of NIGCOMSAT-2 & 3. The organisation is calling for international collaborators and investors who share their vision to support this pivotal mission. This endeavour not only represents a leap forward for NIGCOMSAT but also holds the promise of transforming connectivity on a regional and global scale,\u201d the announcement read.<\/p>\n
Before his exit in 2019, former Minister of Communications Barrister Adebayo Shittu insisted that Nigeria needed two new satellites to back up the current one. He announced plans to approach China-Exim Bank for a $550 million loan, which met resistance from stakeholders who argued that the current satellite was unprofitable and underutilised.<\/p>\n
In 2021, former NIGCOMSAT head Dr. Abimbola Alale also announced at a stakeholder forum the company’s desire to acquire more satellites by 2025, with NIGCOMSAT-2 due for launch in 2023 and NIGCOMSAT-3 in 2025. Legal Adviser and Company Secretary Alma Okpalefe added that these launches would help NIGCOMSAT meet its mandate to commercialise satellite resources and provide quality and affordable satellite services to Nigerians. However, these plans did not materialise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Emmanuel Ogbodo The Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) has started the process of replacing the country\u2019s satellite, NIGCOMSAT-1R, and is seeking global investors to support the project. Launched in 2011, NIGCOMSAT-1R is set to complete its 15-year lifespan in 2026. On Sunday, NIGCOMSAT\u2019s Managing Director, Mrs. Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, announced the replacement initiative. \u201cYou […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38862"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38864,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38862\/revisions\/38864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}