At a news conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Prince Dr. Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammed, the President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), said investments of up to 650 million US dollars (2.4 billion Saudi riyals) would be made in order to build the new satellites, which will provide television, Internet, and telephone services for Riyadh-based satellite operator Arabsat.
The satellites will be built by Lockheed and then launched by Arianespace using its Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. The deals were signed on April 9 and construction will commence immediately. The satellites will be launched in 2018.