Officials from Laos and China attend the agreement signing ceremony. - VT
VIENTIANE: The Ministry of Technology and Communications and a Chinese company have inked an agreement on cooperation in the use of satellite imagery.
This will centre on the construction of a satellite data management and service centre that will provide early warnings of impending weather extremes using satellite imagery.
The two sides also agreed on the use of satellite imagery in mining exploration to identify the presence of minerals, as well as to monitor crop cultivation.
The agreement was signed on Friday (June 21) by the Director General of the Innovation and Technology Department of the Ministry of Technology and Communications, Vilaysone Bupharath, and the President of Daotien Technology Co, Ltd, Xu Lin.
The signing ceremony was attended by the Minister of Technology and Communications, Prof Dr Boviengkham Vongdara, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Laorus Techcom Co, Ltd, Khamnong Houangsanasay, senior ministry officials, and invited guests.
Under the agreement, the two parties will implement the agreed areas of cooperation through joint participation in research projects, construction of a national satellite data management and service centre, and orgaanisation of symposia, workshops, seminars, meetings and conferences on topics of mutual interest.
The aim of the project is to develop satellite information services for use by the public and private sectors, and to integrate satellite technology into public service delivery in order to increase the efficiency of government.
The satellite data management and service centre, BeiDou, will be built on a 10-hectare site in Vangvieng district, Vientiane province, with a service unit located in Don Tiu village in Xaythany district, Vientiane, on a 4-hectare site.
Personnel will be hired for short-, medium- and long-term employment in the field of space technology, and space technology information services will be made available to the general public.
The satellite centre will enable the creation of maps along with remote sensing centres, GIS centres and GNSS centres through BeiDou satellite information services.
Satellite mobile services will also be made available, while weather extremes will be predicted using satellite imagery, with weather monitoring stations to be built at power plants.
Other objectives of the agreement are to use satellite technology in mining exploration and the management of smart cities.
Satellite imagery will also be used in land use management, environmental protection, and in surveying rice, rubber, cassava and sugarcane crops, flooded areas, forest fires, etc.
In addition, this technology will be applied to sand ore absorption along various waterways. -Vientiane Times/ANN
