Arnoldus Kristianus, Bogor – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa indicated on Thursday that the Indonesian government will not assume responsibility for the Jakarta – Bandung high-speed rail project's debt to China, saying the obligation rests with the country's sovereign wealth fund, Danantara.
The $7.2 billion Whoosh project – Indonesia's first bullet train – was largely financed by loans from the Chinese government and is operated by Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), a joint venture between Indonesian state-owned companies and Chinese partners.
Purbaya said Danantara, which now oversees all state-owned enterprises and receives tens of trillions of rupiah in annual dividends, should be capable of settling the project's liabilities without drawing on the national budget.
"KCIC is now under Danantara, and they have their own management and dividend streams," Purbaya told reporters during a media gathering in Bogor.
He noted that Danantara generates roughly Rp 80 trillion ($4.8 billion) in dividends annually – enough, he said, to address the KCIC debt independently.
"The issue can be resolved through Danantara's dividends without burdening the state fiscally," he said. "If the government were to take on the debt, then the dividends should also be managed by the government."
KCIC recorded losses of Rp 1.6 trillion ($100 million) in the first half of 2025, its early months of commercial operation. Despite the financial strain, the Whoosh line remains a centerpiece of Indonesia's infrastructure modernization effort and a flagship project under Chinese financing.
The remarks came a day after Danantara Chief Operating Officer Dony Oskaria proposed two potential solutions for KCIC's financial problems: injecting fresh equity into Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), KCIC's largest shareholder, or fully acquiring the high-speed rail infrastructure. Those proposals have already been submitted to the Coordinating Ministry for Infrastructure and the Transportation Ministry.