MOSCOW, January 23 (RIA Novosti) - The Baikonur space center will see its first launch of 2006 on March 1, when a Russian Proton-M carrier rocket will take off with the Arab communications satellite ArabSat 4A, a spokesman for the Russian Federal Space Agency said Monday.

"Preparations for this first launch in 2006 have started at the Baikonur space center," Vyacheslav Davidenko said. Work on the project involved foreign experts and specialists from the Khrunichev Space Center.

The satellite will be delivered to Baikonur - which Russia leases from Kazakhstan - by the end of this week, Davydenko said.

The Arab Satellite Communications Organization was established in 1967 by member-states of the Arab League to serve the telecommunication, information, culture and education sectors.