Purbaya: High-Speed Railway Restructuring Scheme Awaits Official Presidential Announcement

Jakarta — Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has stated that discussions regarding the restructuring of the high-speed railway project, known as Whoosh, have been concluded in a government meeting. However, he emphasised that the decision cannot yet be communicated to the public as it will be announced directly by the government or the President.

“The meeting has reached a conclusion, but it will be for the President or the government to make the official announcement. Not me,” said Purbaya when met at the Ministry of Finance on Friday, 13 March 2026.

This statement came in response to comments from the Minister of Coordination for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, who previously stated that the restructuring of the Whoosh project must be completed before the high-speed railway line is extended to Surabaya.

Nonetheless, the details of that decision cannot yet be shared publicly. “It is clear what the next steps will be, but it is not yet time to disclose this now. Let those at a higher level present it,” he said.

As has long been anticipated by various stakeholders, the primary debt burden of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (KCJB), or Whoosh, has become a heavy burden for those bearing the debt. During the construction process, the KCJB, which was originally promoted as pure business-to-business cooperation, ultimately had to rely on state budget funds to ensure its sustainability.

From the outset, many parties assessed that this project had the potential to create problems down the line for the state-owned enterprises involved. They highlighted financial planning deemed overly optimistic and continuous cost overruns during the construction period.

Now, although the project has been operational for two years, new problems have emerged. Specifically, PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) must make instalment payments of principal and interest to the Chinese side.

Based on Kompas.com reporting, the investment in the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway reached approximately 7.27 billion US dollars, or 120.38 trillion rupiah (at an exchange rate of 16,500 rupiah). Of this total investment, approximately 75 per cent was financed through loans from China Development Bank (CDB) at an interest rate of 2 per cent per annum.

The Whoosh construction debt was arranged with a fixed interest rate scheme over the first 40 years. The KCJB debt interest is significantly higher than the Japanese proposal, which offered 0.1 per cent per annum.