CARACAS - Venezuela formalized plans on Thursday to launch its second satellite from China next year to help the government improve mapping and more accurately estimate agricultural harvests.

Science and Technology Minister Ricardo Menendez said the Chinese-made satellite, to be launched in October 2012, will also be used for monitoring weather patterns so authorities can prepare for potential dangers like floods.

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"We are going to have a satellite that will facilitate monitoring national territory 24 hours a day, which gives us enormous potential for assistance in extreme situations such as torrents of rainfall," the state-run AVN news agency quoted Menendez as saying.

The satellite has a life span of five to six years and will cost $140 million, Menendez said.

The announcement was made nearly three years after Venezuela launched its first satellite from China. Venezuelan officials say that satellite has helped the country become self-sufficient in television, Internet and other communication transmissions.

President Hugo Chavez has forged strong ties with China.

"This satellite will undoubtedly stimulate cooperation between the two countries in all areas," said Sun Weigang, engineering director of the Chinese Science and Technology Corp.

In April, Chavez announced an agreement with China that would have the Asian economic giant devote $20 billion to financing long-term development projects in Venezuela.

Chavez said the financing would mostly go toward industrial and infrastructure projects.