Palace: Government Prepares Non-APBN High-speed Train Debt Payment Scheme

JAKARTA - Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi stated that the government does not plan to use the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) to pay off the debt of the Jakarta Fast Train (KCJB) project.

In his statement at the residence of President Prabowo Subianto, Kertanegara, Jakarta, Sunday, October 12 evening, Prasetyo said that the government had discussed alternative steps to find financing solutions that did not burden the state budget.

"Some time ago it was also discussed to be asked to find a scheme, yes, a scheme so that the financial burden can be found a way out," he said.

When asked whether the topic related to Payment of loans was included in the discussion agenda at a limited meeting (ratas) with President Prabowo Subianto, Prasetyo said that this was not included in the flat discussion.

"Tonight, no, tonight I don't have time. Shakesh is not one of the discussions tonight," Prasetyo said in response to questions from the media crew regarding the solution forASH.

However, Prasetyo assessed that theASH project has great benefits for the community, especially in increasing connectivity between Jakarta and Bandung.

"In fact,PORTs are one of the modes of transportation that really helps people's activities, both from Jakarta and Bandung and vice versa," he said.

Furthermore, the Minister of State Secretary added that the government sees the potential for developing a high-speed rail network as part of the vision of national transportation development.

"In fact, we really want it to develop, yes, not only to Jakarta and to Bandung, maybe we are also thinking about getting to Jakarta, to Surabaya," he said.

Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadive, at the Media Gathering of the Ministry of Finance 2025 in Bogor, last Friday, decided that the APBN would not be used to bear the debt burden of the Jakarta Fast Train project managed by PT KCIC.

The government, said Purbaya, encourages the completion of the strategic project financing to be carried out through the Anagata Nusantara Resources Investment Management Agency (Danantara), which has a financial capacity and an independent dividend source of around IDR 80 trillion per year.

According to Purbaya, this step is important to separate responsibilities between the government and the private sector so that infrastructure projects do not continue to burden the state budget.

Meanwhile, Danantara Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dony Oskaria explained the two settlement options that are being studied, namely through additional equity or infrastructure takeover by the government as practiced in other railway industries.

Dony added that the KCJB project has had a significant economic impact with an increase in mobility and passengers reaching 30 thousand people per day.

However, he emphasized that the KCIC business sustainability aspect, which is now part of PT KAI, must also be maintained through the right financing scheme.