Venezuelan officials said on Friday China will on Saturday formally hand over the "Simon Bolivar" satellite as part of a joint project between the two countries.

A handover ceremony will be held at one of the satellite's main land stations in the town of El Sombrero, 300 km south of Caracas, Telecommunications and Information Minister Socorro Hernandez said.

The Chinese-built satellite will promote telecommunication services in Venezuela. The whole project costs 406 million U.S. dollars and includes the building of technological bases, manufacturing and launch of the satellite and training of Venezuelan professionals.

It is China's first contract for satellite manufacturing and launch service for a Latin American country.

The "Simon Bolivar," with a designed service life of 15 years, will be used for broadcasting, distance learning, medical services, among others. The satellite is designed to operate at an orbit 36,000 km high from the earth surface.

Millions of Venezuelans watched its launch on Oct. 29, 2008 in southwest China's Sichuan province on television.

Chavez watched the broadcast of the launch at Luepa Station in southern Venezuela's Bolivar state.

During the first year of its operation, "Simon Bolivar" will focus on domestic needs, Hernandez said.

In the first quarter of 2009, 108 towns with problems in getting access to telephone services will benefit from the satellite.

A total of 1,200 satellite land antennas have been set up and another 3,500 will be gradually installed by the end of this year, Science and Technology Minister Nuris Orihuela told Venezolana de Television.

Orihuela said "Simon Bolivar" will be able to cover all the Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The "Simon Bolivar," which is named after a South American independence leader in the 1800s, makes Venezuela the fourth country in Latin America to have a satellite, after Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

(Xinhua News Agency January 10, 2009)