Purbaya: High-Speed Rail Project Restructuring Completed, Awaiting Announcement

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has assured that the restructuring process for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project, or Whoosh, has been completed. The government is now simply awaiting the right moment to announce the results officially.

“It’s already done, just waiting to be announced,” Purbaya stated after the PT SMI 2026 Symposium in Jakarta on Wednesday (22/4/2026).

Purbaya said the decision has already been conveyed to the Chinese government as the project partner. This step was taken to preserve Indonesia’s trust and credibility on the international stage.

According to him, international trust is a crucial factor, particularly for strategic projects involving foreign investors.

Regarding the possibility of Chinese representatives attending the official announcement, Purbaya has not provided any certainty. He stated that the decision remains in the hands of the Indonesian government.

“It could be yes or no, we’ll see later,” he explained.

Purbaya has not yet been willing to reveal the details of the restructuring results. He asked for further explanations to be awaited after the official announcement.

“It will be announced by Mr AHY later. I think I don’t have the right to talk about it now. Later, ask Mr AHY once it’s announced. But clearly, it’s already decided, just not the time to announce it yet,” said Purbaya.

Purbaya assessed that at that time, no party had full control. The situation caused confusion among those implementing the project on the ground.

He even received direct complaints from the Chinese partners regarding the slow progress of the project, including land acquisition.

“Two years? One or two years, the land that was acquired was only four kilometres. Back then, we were talking about the old days. Then I asked, who is handling the project? No one, right? If we (the Chinese side) complain to the SOE, it’s passed to the Ministry of Public Works (PU), then passed again there. Alright, it was pulled to maritime at that time,” he explained.