August 29, 2026 | 07:30 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the management of debt linked to the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, known as the Whoosh, will be transferred to the Finance Ministry on September 15, 2026, while the government is still discussing how the debt will be repaid.
"The details are still being discussed. What is certain is that it will be handed over to us around September 15," Purbaya said in Jakarta on Friday, August 28.
The debt management was initially expected to involve Special Mission Vehicles (SMVs) under the Finance Ministry. Purbaya has not yet disclosed which SMVs will be appointed but said the government could involve at least two entities.
"We could involve several SMVs under the Finance Ministry. But I have not announced them yet because we don't know for certain and discussions are still underway. It could be two. We could also use a smaller SMV and a larger one. We'll see which scheme is most appropriate," he said.
PT PII Considered to Manage KCIC Debt
The government's plan to manage the debt is outlined in Book II of the Financial Note accompanying the 2027 Draft State Budget.
Under the plan, PT Penjaminan Infrastruktur Indonesia (Persero), or PT PII, a Finance Ministry SMV, will be tasked with managing the debt of PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the company operating the Whoosh railway.
PT PII will provide a joint guarantee under a first-loss arrangement, meaning it would absorb losses within its guaranteed portion before other parties bear the remaining risk.
The government said risk mitigation measures would include regular monitoring and supervision, periodic performance reporting, and closer coordination between the government and Danantara, Indonesia's sovereign wealth management agency, to provide necessary support for the Whoosh project.
The government also plans to strengthen risk management within PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), which is involved in the project's ownership structure.
SMV to Act as Fiscal Buffer
The proposed guarantee mechanism is expected to provide an additional layer of protection for the state budget.
Yusuf Rendy Manilet, an economist at the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE), said having PT PII cover claims first could help contain the immediate pressure on the state budget.
However, the government should conduct a fiscal stress test to assess the potential impact of its decision to take over a 60 percent stake in KCIC, according to M. Rizal Taufikurahman, head of the Macroeconomics and Finance Center at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF).
He said appointing a Finance Ministry SMV to manage KCIC's debt would primarily serve as a buffer for the government, rather than eliminating the underlying fiscal risks associated with the railway project.
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