Arabsat signs contract to build new headquarters in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter

Arab Satellite Communications Organization – Arabsat –  has signed a contract to build its new headquarters in the Diplomatic Quarter inRiyadh. The new building will be constructed by Al-BAWANI Co. Ltd on land provided by the Government of theKingdomofSaudi Arabiato Arabsat and covers an area of ​​nearly 14,000 square meters.

Eng. Khalid bin Ahmed Balkhyour, President  & CEO of Arabsat, stated “This project has been in collaboration with the High Commission for  Development of Riyadh, where His Royal Highness the Prince of Riyadh issued his consent  so that Riyadh Principality take over the supervision of the design and implementation of the building through an international competition in which more than 25 local and global designers have participated. Al-BAWANI Co. Ltd will build Arabsat headquarters within 30  months.”

Balkhyour  praised the fundamental support received by theKingdom ofSaudi Arabia since the establishment of Arabsat, when the Kingdom hosted Arabsat headquarters in the Diplomatic Quarter and its main station in Dirab outsideRiyadh, allocating pieces of land  to these headquarters. The  Kingdom also provided a grant to build Arabsat’s new headquarters, which will be one of the main features of the Diplomatic Quarter inRiyadh as expected by the High Commission for the Development of Riyadh.

Mr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Tuwajiri, Chairman of  Al-BAWANI Co., Ltd. said, “We thank Arab Satellite Communications Organization for providing the opportunity for Al-BAWANI Co. Ltd to build this important building with its distinctive architectural features.”  He added that his company is looking forward to a lasting strategic partnership with Arabsat.

ARABSAT broadcasting BBC Arabic TV and radio on Badr-4

Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT) and BBC have announced the renewal of their agreement for five years to broadcast BBC Arabic TV and radio programmes via Arabsat satellite Badr 4 at 26°E , which covers the Middle East and large parts of  Europe andAfrica.

Eng. / Khalid bin Ahmed Balkhyour, President & CEO of ARABSAT, and Nigel Fry, Head of Distribution BBC Global News, both stated that they are very pleased to continue this relationship, with Fry saying that BBC channels are available to many millions of homes across the region as part of a bouquet of popular channels.

Balkhyour said that ARABSAT is currently finalizing the manufacture and launching of its 6th generation of satellites that will secure ARABSAT leadership in the satellite telecommunications and broadcasting market in the region, in addition to ARABSAT diversity of services delivered to its customers to meet all their future requirements.

On 2 Febuary Arabsat announced that it had signed a contract with the Sudanese Blue Nile Channel to join the Sudanese bouquet, broadcast from the recently built platform shared between the Sudanese Radio & Television Agency and ARABSAT. Blue Nile Channel with its wide range of diverse programming is the most viewed Sudanese channel; it broadcasts its programmes to the Sudanese platform via optical fibre. 

Arabsat at Arab Radio and TV Festival, Cairo

The  Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) participates in this year’s Arab Radio and Television Festival in  Cairo(8th  – 12th  December, The  Media Production City, Cairo).

Eng / Khalid bin Ahmed Balkhyour, President & CEO of Arabsat, stated that during this event  Arabsat will also present its new satellite services that were recently launched to provide more satellite capacities to serve HDTV broadcast and meet the expected demand for this service.

He pointed out that Arabsat has an integrated satellite fleet  that provides all TV broadcasting and satellite communications services with a full back up in orbit, and added that Arabsat investments in building and operating this fleet of new satellites have exceeded 1.6 billion U.S. dollars, funded primarily from Arabsat revenue. Arabsat is currently ranked seventh in the world among the largest satellite operators worldwide.

Arabsat recently signed a contract for manufacturing and launching its sixth generation satellites, which will be launched in the coming years to ensure the diversity of all Arabsat services delivered and the development needed to meet all its customers’ requirements .

Arabsat 5th Forum for Telecom Services Providers, Dubai

The Arab Satellite Communications Organization – Arabsat – holds its 5th  forum for Telecommunications services providers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 21st , 22nd , November  2012, in the presence of a group of telecommunications companies and  Arabsat  customers. The Arabsat delegation in this forum is headed by Eng / Mueid bin Gharam Allah Al-Zahrani, Executive Vice President for Technical Affairs.
Eng. Khalid bin Ahmed Balkhyour, President & CEO of Arabsat, stated that during the Forum a number of technical worksheets related to Arabsat customers  will be discussed and presented in order to improve customer services. There will also be presentations provided by major private companies  working in the field of Telecommunications, and the forum will  discuss the last updates in the field of satellite telecommunications services through Arabsat future satellites.