(2 Dec 2013) Bolivian President Evo Morales inaugurated a satellite operations centre on Monday ahead of the launch of his country's first telecommunications satellite.
The Bolivian government hired the Chinese construction CGWIC company to construct the satellite, which is named after indigenous hero Tupac Katari.
It will be launched later this month from a base in China.
During the ceremony that included an offering ritual to the mother earth, Morales said the telecommunications project will improve the communications services for those in rural areas.
"We still have families in the middle of the country that don't know the capital city of their region," Morales said.
Funded with a loan from the China Development Bank and with funds from the Bolivian government, the project has a price tag of 302 (m) million US Dollars.
Li Dong, the Chinese Ambassador to Bolivia, praised Morales during Monday's ceremony and said he hopes the relationship between both countries continues to grow.
Residents in rural areas will most benefit from the project, as they will have better phone, internet and cable television services.
The satellite will have a 15-year life span.
"The satellite Tupak Katari will change the lives of a third of the Bolivian people that until now have lived without modern telecommunications services," said Ivan Zambrana, director of the Bolivian Space Agency.
The operations station is located in El Alto, in the outskirts of La Paz.
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