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FINANCE Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa emphasized that the Ministry of Finance is not making any payments to Danantara during the transfer process of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, known as Whoosh.
According to Purbaya, the transfer does not involve a financial transaction. The Ministry of Finance will receive an equity stake at no cost but will assume responsibility for Whoosh’s future debt obligations.
“To be clear, we are not paying; we are not paying Danantara for this handover,” Purbaya told journalists at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Monday (9/07), 2026.
Purbaya stated that Whoosh’s debt repayment obligations would be handled by a state-owned enterprise (SOE) under the Ministry of Finance via a Special Mission Vehicle (SMV) scheme.
He reiterated that the Ministry of Finance incurs no cost for the handover process itself. However, the designated company must still make annual debt repayments.
“So, there is no cost for me. But I will pay—or rather, the SOE under the Ministry of Finance will pay—that amount every year,” he said.
The former Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) noted that the SMV handling Whoosh’s obligations would not need to seek new investors to service the debt.
Purbaya mentioned that one such SMV company could generate annual profits of around IDR 3 trillion to IDR 4 trillion. In his view, these profits are sufficient to cover the existing debt.
“The funds are already there. SMVs have them, right? Let’s take just one SMV company—what is its current profit? IDR3 trillion or IDR4 trillion a year. Plus, its own operations—it might generate another IDR 800 billion in profit,” he said. Purbaya stated that the process of transferring the high-speed railway to the Ministry of Finance is expected to take place in mid-September 2026. Upon receiving the transfer, the Ministry will recalculate the Whoosh project’s debt obligations.
Management of the matter will subsequently be handled by a state-owned enterprise (BUMN) under the Ministry of Finance. Purbaya has not yet specified which Special Mission Vehicle (SMV) company will be assigned to manage these obligations.
“Around the middle of the month, the high-speed railway will be handed over to us. So, we will sort it out. We will calculate the debt,” Purbaya concluded. [sources/special photo]
