Purbaya confirms funds available for high-speed rail debt payments

Jakarta (ANTARA) — Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has confirmed that the Ministry of Finance possesses sufficient funds to meet the high-speed rail debt payment obligations following the transfer process in mid-September.

Purbaya said the government does not need to seek new investors to finance the debt obligations, as the funds for payment are already available through a state-owned enterprise (BUMN) under the Ministry of Finance.

“No, the money is already there,” Purbaya said at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Monday.

He explained that once the transfer is completed, the high-speed rail debt obligations will be managed by one of the Special Vehicle Mission (SMV) companies or Public Service Agencies (BLU) under the Ministry of Finance.

According to Purbaya, the financial capacity of the company is considered sufficient to meet the debt obligations.

He cited an example of one SMV company that can record profits of around Rp3 trillion to Rp4 trillion per year.

Furthermore, he noted that the SMV that will manage the high-speed rail in future has net profits of up to Rp800 billion per year.

“It is enough to pay the current debt. We will calculate it later,” he said.

Purbaya said the process of transferring the high-speed rail to the Ministry of Finance does not involve any payment transaction to Danantara Indonesia.

The Ministry of Finance will receive an equity injection valued at zero rupiah, but will subsequently take over responsibility for the high-speed rail debt obligations.

“There is none. The equity injection was given to me at zero rupiah. I will bear the debt going forward. My SMV will bear the debt going forward. So there is no cost for me,” Purbaya explained.

He affirmed that the debt settlement will be carried out after the high-speed rail transfer process is complete. He said the government will first calculate the amount of the obligations and determine which BUMN company under the Ministry of Finance will handle the debt payments.

“What is clear is that we are not paying — we are not paying Danantara for this handover,” Purbaya stressed.

Nevertheless, Purbaya has not yet revealed the name of the SMV company that will be assigned to handle the high-speed rail debt payment obligations.