STATO Pontianak is expected to be operational by mid-2027

KUCHING, 4 Oct: The Sarawak Office of Trade and Tourism (STATO) in Pontianak, Indonesia is expected to start operations around mid next year after the premises for the office have been identified.

Deputy Prime Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said that renovation work should be done first before the office can start operations.

"Now we have identified the building and it has to go through renovation work and so on. So we're hoping to start operating next year, maybe in the middle of next year", he said.

He said this when meeting with the media after completing the 2026 Micro Excellence Entrepreneur Award Ceremony at MetroCity Event Centre (MCEC), here, today.

According to him, the Sarawak Government must also get approval from the Indonesian authorities in addition to identifying a candidate Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead the operations of the office.

"For an office in Pontianak, we need to find a CEO. At the same time, we need to get approval from the Government of Indonesia through their ministries and that's important", he said.

Meanwhile, Awang Tengah said the proposal to set up STATO in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) is also under planning and will be hosted by Sarawak Petroleum Berhad (PETROS) and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB).

However, it is clear that the location of the premises has not yet been determined and negotiations to find a suitable building will be carried out.