ER
INDONESIA’s Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa revealed that the debt restructuring for the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (KCJB)—known as Whoosh—utilizes an installment scheme of approximately IDR1 trillion per year, with a tenor of up to 80 years.
“The total debt is substantial, but it has been restructured over 80 years; the installments are around IDR1 trillion—or slightly less—on a year-to-year basis. Some years are higher, some are lower,” Purbaya explained to the media in Jakarta on Tuesday (9/08), 2026.
He assessed that the burden resulting from this restructuring scheme is relatively lighter than anticipated, making it manageable for the Ministry of Finance.
Purbaya had previously stated that a Special Mission Vehicle (SMV) or a Public Service Agency (BLU) under the Ministry of Finance would be engaged to manage the KCJB debt on behalf of the government.
Thus far, he has considered the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) and PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI) to carry out this mandate. However, given the relatively lighter installment burden, he is open to the possibility of appointing just one SMV to manage the Whoosh debt.
“I am simply looking at what the annual burden looks like. If it is just this amount, it is sufficient for a single SMV under the Ministry of Finance to handle it,” he added.
The process of transferring responsibility for managing the KCJB project debt from Danantara to the Ministry of Finance is scheduled for September 15, 2026.
Once the debt is transferred to the government, Minister Purbaya plans to expand the Whoosh project to other regions. He aims to extend the Whoosh line as far as East Java.
“We will extend it to East Java later. After all, it will belong to us [the government]—the high-speed train will belong to the SMV. We will extend it to East Java. I have spoken with China’s Finance Minister and the relevant authorities there; it seems they are interested,” he said.
Previously, Purbaya explained that involving companies under the Ministry of Finance in the Whoosh debt restructuring process would generate profits of up to IDR800 billion annually.
He also expressed confidence that the Ministry of Finance’s Special Mission Vehicles (SMVs) or Public Service Agencies (BLUs) possess the adequate capacity to manage the Whoosh debt.
According to Purbaya, one of these SMVs is capable of recording annual profits in the range of IDR3 trillion to IDR4 trillion. [antaranews]
