ABU DHABI, 22nd September, 2023 (WAM) -- Al Yah Satellite Communications Company announced today that its government services arm, Yahsat Government Solutions (YGS), has received from the UAE Government an Authorisation to Proceed (ATP) to provide satellite capacity and managed services for 17 years.

This mandate, valued at AED18.7 billion (US$5.1 billion), combines related operations, maintenance and technology management services of ground segment satellite systems and terminals currently provided under a separate contract.

The mandate will replace two current agreements, the Capacity Services Agreement (CSA) and the Managed Services Mandate (MSM), which come to an end in November and December 2026, respectively.

Under the new mandate, Yahsat will provide the government with secure and reliable satellite capacity and related managed services using the Al Yah 1 and Al Yah 2 satellites, currently in orbit, and supplement this with two new satellites, Al Yah 4 (AY4) and Al Yah 5 (AY5) which are expected to be launched in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

The mandate reinforces Yahsat's long-standing and unique relationship with the government, dating back almost two decades since its inception, highlighting its critical role as the preferred and trusted partner to the government for the supply of secure satellite capacity and solutions.

It also significantly increases the Group's contracted future revenues to AED25.7 billion ($7.0 billion), over 16 times its 2022 annual revenues, extending backlog well beyond 2040 and providing security and visibility over its future cash flows.

Yahsat signed an Authorisation-to-Proceed with Airbus (Airbus ATP) in June 2023 for the construction of AY4 and AY5. This preserves the programme schedule and enables certain activities to commence, such as system requirements review, design work and procurement activities for long-lead items. The AY4 and AY5 procurement, including spacecraft, ground segment infrastructure, launch and insurance, will be funded by Yahsat's own resources as well as other potential funding options which are currently under review.

In addition, the award includes an advance payment from the government of $1 billion to be received in 2024.

Commenting on this key milestone, Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Chairman of Yahsat, said, "By complementing our existing fleet with Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 next-generation satellites, we will be able to serve the government with new cutting-edge solutions that are not currently possible. The performance of the new satellites is expected to significantly surpass current industry capabilities, including capacity, coverage and flexibility, allowing us to offer a wide range of next-generation applications to our end users. We are excited by this new journey and look forward to serving our customers with true operational excellence."

Ali Al Hashemi, Group Chief Executive Officer at Yahsat, said, "The AED18.7 billion [$5.1 billion] mandate positions Yahsat for sustainable future growth, alongside other ambitious projects in the pipeline. Our financial position has never been stronger and we now enjoy a contracted revenue backlog of AED25.7 billion [$7.0 billion] or over 16 times annual revenues based on backlog figures at the end of the second quarter.

"Representing one of the largest backlog multiples and strongest balance sheets in the industry, we remain optimistic about providing a broader, more diverse and cutting-edge solutions portfolio to both the government and our customers."