Twilight of the Toll Road Business: Myth or Fact? This is the Minister of Public Works' Analysis

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The narrative regarding the twilight of the toll road business in Indonesia has emerged alongside the end of the era of massive infrastructure booms over the past decade. The shadow of financial crises faced by Toll Road Business Entities (BUJT) and the shifting priorities of the central government have triggered crucial questions: Are highway concessions still profitable investment fields, or are they transforming into permanent fiscal burdens? Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo dismisses this scepticism with market logic arguments. Responding to data from the Post Investment Review by the Indonesian Toll Association (ATI), which states that 54 percent of BUJT have negative operational profitability and a Return on Assets (ROA) of only 0.02 percent, Dody has his own analysis. He does not doubt the validity of ATI’s data but rejects using it as a generalisation to conclude that the industry is collapsing. “Logically, if the toll road business is no longer promising, it is impossible for investors to still compete to ask the government to open new sections or propose Government and Business Entity Cooperation (KPBU) initiatives,” Dody stated on Sunday (29/3/2026). On sections with projected high revenue, investors even tend to choose open options without government support. State support, such as equity or guarantees, is usually only requested for sections with marginal financial viability but high strategic value. Dody provides a critical note on the terminology of “loss” often echoed by business players, including BUJT. From the perspective of public policy analysis, claims of losses are often part of negotiation strategies to obtain incentives, regulatory relaxations, or tariff adjustments. “In this condition, almost all business players will always say they are losing. That’s commonplace,” Dody remarked candidly. Without transparent audits, current cash flow loss claims do not necessarily reflect long-term investment failures.