Purbaya Affirms Financing Fast Train Debt Responsibility For The Aerospace, Not From The State Budget

Illustration - Fast Train? (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

BOGOR - Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadive emphasized that the government will not bear part of the debt from the Jakarta Fast Train Project "Bandung" which is 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.

The management structure through Danantara itself is designed to reduce the dependence of entities such as KCIC on state funds, as well as encourage the independence of state-owned companies in financing national strategic projects.

"Let's not be (on stage) anymore. Because if not, then everything will be us again, including the dividends. So this is going to be separated by the private sector from government," he said.

Previously, there was a suggestion from BPI Danantara Chief Operating Officer Dony Oskaria to divert some of the high-speed rail project debt to the state budget.

Adapun usulan ini menjadi salah satu dari dua opsi penyelesaian utang yang disampaikan kepada Menteri Koordinator Bidang Infrastruktur dan Pembangunan Kewilayahan Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY).

Dalam skemanya, Dony mengusulkan agar infrastruktur Kereta Cepat diserahkan kepada pemerintah dan KCIC nantinya hanya akan berperan sebagai operator tanpa kepemilikan aset (model bisnis asset-light).

Jika skema ini disetujui, maka utang prasarana senilai 6,7 miliar dolar AS atau sekitar Rp111,10 triliun (kurs Rp16.583 per dolar AS) akan menjadi tanggungan negara dan masuk dalam pembiayaan melalui APBN.

This proposal is one of two debt settlement options submitted to the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY).

In his scheme, Dony suggested that the Fast Train infrastructure be handed over to the government and KCIC would later only act as an operator without asset ownership (asset-light business model).

If this scheme is approved, then infrastructure debt worth US$6.7 billion or around Rp. 111.10 trillion (exchange rate of Rp. 16,583 per US dollar) will be the responsibility of the state and be included in financing through the state budget.