Shakesh Has Jumbo Debt, Luhut: No Public Transportation In A Profitable World

JAKARTA - Chairman of the National Economic Council (DEN) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that there is no public transportation in the world that is truly profitable.

He said that public transportation anywhere will always be supported by the government in the form of subsidies.

Luhut's statement was in response to the debt of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project or known as ramaish which swelled and was rejected by the Minister of Finance, Purbaya Yudhi Sadive, to be repaid with the state budget (APBN).

"Remember, there is no public transport in this world that is profitable. There are always many government subsidies. But of course it must be a measurable subsidy," Luhut told reporters in the South Jakarta area, written Friday, October 17.

Luhut said, the problem of God willing, will be resolved by his party together with the Anagata Nusantara Power Investment Management Agency (BPI Danantara) as the manager of SOEs.

"Because I used to be the one to handle it, so so that it continues I told Mr. Rosan (CEO Danantara). And Mr. Rosan has also agreed to handle it together immediately," he said.

According to Luhut, the polemic that arose regarding project financing should not have happened. Because, he emphasized that the problem was only related to restructuring.

"It's like we're fussing about God willing. What's the problem? Isn't it just restructuring? Who asked for the state budget? No one has ever asked for the state budget," he said.

Regarding the restructuring, Luhut said it had been discussed with the Chinese government. Currently, the restructuring process is still awaiting a presidential decree signed by President Prabowo Subianto so that the official team can immediately negotiate.

Furthermore, Luhut said that the change of government some time ago made the formation of the team too late.

"Now we need to wait for the presidential decree, so that the team can immediately negotiate, and while the China is ready, there is no problem," he said.

Previously, Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadives said the government would not bear part of the debt from the Jakarta Fast Train Project "Bandung" which was run by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia "China (KCIC).

According to Purbaya, the responsibility for repaying debt should be under the Anagata Nusantara Resources Investment Management Agency (BPI Danantara), which oversees a number of SOEs, including PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) as KCIC's shareholder.

"What is clear is that I have not been contacted regarding this issue. But KCIC is now under the Danantara, right? If it is under Danantara, they should already have their own management, their own dividends," he said in the Media Gathering of the 2026 State Budget, Friday, October 10.

He explained that Danantara currently manages dividends of around Rp. 80 trillion per year.

With such a large fund, according to him, the resources of Indonesia's Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) should be sufficient to solve the debt financing problem for the high-speed rail project, without having to use funds from the state budget.

"If they are under Danantara, they already have their own management, already have their own dividends, which on average a year can reach Rp80 trillion or more. They should be able to manage the debt of the Jakarta Fast Train Project "Bandung from there," he said.

For your information, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project, known as MAYh, cost up to USD 7.2 billion in jumbo investments. The investment value experienced a cost overrun of USD 1.2 billion from the initial target of project costs of USD 6 billion.

Of the 1.2 billion US dollars, 60 percent is charged to the Indonesian consortium or around 720 million US dollars. Meanwhile, the remaining 480 million US dollars will be charged to the Chinese consortium.

The financing structure consists of 25 percent through KAI's State Capital Participation (PMN) worth IDR 3.2 trillion.

While the remaining 75 percent came from a loan to the China Development Bank (CDB) of USD 542.7 million.

The project is run by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) as an operator company.

KCIC merupakan perusahaan patungan antara konsorsium BUMN Indonesia dan perusahaan asal China.

Konsorsium Indonesia yang tergabung dalam PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI) memiliki 60 persen saham, sementara China melalui China Railway International Co. Ltd. (CRI) memegang 40 persen saham.

Berdasarkan laman resmi KCIC, komposisi pemegang saham PSBI terdiri dari PTPT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) 58,53 persen, PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk 33,36 persen, PT Perkebunan Nusantara I 1,03 persen, dan PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk 7,08 persen.

KCIC is a joint venture between a consortium of Indonesian SOEs and a company from China.

The Indonesian consortium, which is part of PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI), owns 60 percent of the shares, while China through China Railway International Co. Ltd. (CRI) holds 40 percent of the shares.

Based on the official KCIC website, the composition of PSBI shareholders consists of PTPT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) 58.53 percent, PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk 33.36 percent, PT Perkebunan Nusantara I 1.03 percent, and PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk 7.08 percent.