Arsat, the satellite operator owned by the Argentinean government, could ultimately gain 50 percent of its revenues from outside of Argentina and even could look to form a partnership with other FSS companies to boost Arsat’s position in North America and become a key satellite capacity provider for the Americas, says Pablo Tognetti, Arsat’s chairman and CEO.
The operator, which was created in 2006, is major controlled by Argentina’s Ministry of Planning and Public Investment. Arsat holds orbital rights which enable it to offer services throughout the Americas and is in the midst of an aggressive capital expenditure program. Arsat plans to launch three new satellites by 2014 that will bring the operator a considerable amount of capacity to serve the needs of the population in Argentina as well,become more of a force in Latin America and North America.
Tognetti discusses the operator’s plans to use this capacity and where he ultimately hopes to position Arsat after these satellites have been placed into orbit.
VIA SATELLITE: What is the schedule for the deployment of the Arsat satellites?
Tognetti: Arsat’s satellite fleet deployment plan involves three satellites, with the first satellite — Arsat-1, being under construction and slated for launch by mid 2012. We have signed a contract with Arianespace for the launch of this satellite. We plan to launch Arsat-2 in 2013 and then Arsat-3 in 2014, respectively. The initial challenge is to complete the construction of Arsat-1 and Arsat-2 satellites. This is taking place with a company called Invap, based in Southern Argentina. This is a technology company which is the prime contractor of the satellites.
VIA SATELLITE: What is the total cost of Arsat 1, 2 and 3, and how are the new satellites being funded?
Tognetti: We are spending around $200 million over the next 12 months, and this represents the investments for Arsat-1 and Arsat-2. Main financing comes from the major shareholder, the Ministry of Federal Planning and Public Investment. This reflects the high interest in this project on behalf of the government, but we have a new source of financing for this project, which is the multilateral loan organization called Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF). CAF has granted a first step loan which amounted to $36 million. This is the first time that this corporation has lent money to a satellite project. They usually lend money for roads or other infrastructure projects. This is the first time they will lend money for a technology project, and we are proud of that. This is to be applied for the development phase of the project.
We now have a second step loan under the evaluation process from CAF for $100 million. This will be specifically for the Arsat-1 satellite. The costs of Arsat-1 will be higher than the other two satellites, because of one-time non-recurring costs development of the satellites, but the cost of Arsat-2 will probably be $210 million and that includes launch and insurance. As there is a learning curve, and because we also want to increase the domestic contribution in building the satellites, we expect a decrease in the costs. We think Arsat-3 will cost around $200 million or lower. As well, we expect to set-up a business plan with Invap, the company who is building these satellites, to try and export these satellites. Arsat is paying for the development, so it owns the intellectual property.
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