Everything about the contracts and the obstacles to the project is being reviewed, thus the project can be continued.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Acting communication and information minister Mahfud MD has assured that the Indonesian Satellite-1 (SATRIA-1) project, which is the responsibility of the ministry’s Telecommunication and Informatics Accessibility Agency (BAKTI), will continue as planned.

He made the statement while announcing that the inspector general of the Communication and Information Ministry, Arief Tri Hardiyanto, has been temporarily assigned as president director of BAKTI.

The previous incumbent, Anang Achmas Latif, has been named by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) as one of the suspects in an alleged corruption case linked to the development of 4G Base Transceiver Stations (BTS).

"We will strive to continue the project. Everything about the contracts and the obstacles to the project is being reviewed, thus the project can be continued," the acting minister said at the Communication and Information Ministry’s media center here on Friday.

He added that the attempt is in line with President Joko Widodo’s directive that the project be continued since the infrastructure is really needed by the community.

The development of SATRIA-1 is being financed through a public-private partnership scheme. Collaboration has been forged with a French space company, Thales Alenia Space, to develop the satellite.

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According to a subsidiary of PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), PT Satelit Nusantara Tiga (SNT), the development of SATRIA-1 has reached the final stage.

SATRIA-1 was sent from France to Cape Canaveral, Florida, the United States, on May 8, 2023, by sea.

If everything runs according to plan, the satellite will be launched using American space technology developer SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in mid-June.

The satellite is expected to start operating by the end of 2023 to help support 150 thousand public service areas and reduce the digital divide in Indonesia.

In addition to SATRIA, Mahfud assured that other telecommunication infrastructure projects carried out by BAKTI will continue to run smoothly, including the construction of BTS in disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) areas.

"The President ordered me, as the acting communication and information minister, to continue the 4G BTS tower project since it is part of the government’s services to the community to improve the welfare of the Indonesian people by providing adequate communication facilities," he added.

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Translator: Livia Kristianti, Uyu Liman
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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