Vietnam will put its first communication satellite into operation in the second quarter of 2008, local newspaper Saigon Liberation reported Friday.

The government has just decided to invest 2,885 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 182.6 US million dollars) in manufacturing and launching the medium-sized satellite named Vinasat, which will span its coverage over Vietnam, other Southeast Asian countries, Japan, the Korean peninsula, part of China, eastern Oceanean and the South China Sea.

Of the investment, 20 percent will come from the state-owned Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corporation, and the rest from loans. A satellite control station will be established in Hoai Duc district, northern Ha Tay province and a standby one in Ben Cat district, southern Binh Duong province.

Vietnam will open a tender for satellite production and relevant activities with the bidders coming from the United States, France, Japan and Russia. Now, it has to use satellite services provided by foreign companies from Thailand, Indonesia and Russia.

Vinasat will be Vietnam's second space item since the country's first astronaut took part in a Soviet space mission in 1985.

Source: Xinhua