BARISAL, Jan 10: The construction work of a 10-kilowatt medium wave fulfledged broadcasting centre of Bangladesh Betar at Rupatali, about three kilometres away from here has been completed, official sources said.

Radio engineer Kazi Md Seli, who is in-charge of construction the centre, told BSS that the centre could be commissioned at any time and is fully ready for operation. Different broadcasting mechanisms has, in the meantime, been tested.

The better centre has been operating at least four hours a day experimentally beginning from 10 am, broadcasting earlier recorded cassettes of different varieties of songs, the official sources said.

The operation of this centre is being done on 230 metre band at 1,287 khz.

According to the sources, the government had spent Tk 18.70 crore including foreign exchange component of Tk 6.50 crore for construction of this centre in 1995-96 fiscal year.

The government had acquired 18.77 acres of land at the projects sites in 1996 and thereafter started its construction.

The Public Works Department (PWD) constructed administrative buildings, three studios, transmission halls, reception room, police barrack garrage, pump house, power station, boundary wall, approach road, residential buildings, a 200-metre long vertical tower and a mosque.

The better centre is now awaiting inauguration for regular operation, the sources said.

When commissioned, the people of southern districts within 80 kilometres radius from the transmission centre will be able to listen to the programme to be broadcast by this centre here, the sources added.