KPK Asked To Investigate Parties Agreeing To Swelling Project Values

Archives - A series of quick Trains at Tegalluar Station, Bandung Regency, West Java, Wednesday (29/11/2023). (ANTARA/Rubby Jovan)

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has been urged to explore the crucial role of parties who approved the value of the procurement of the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Train, totaling, which is currently being investigated for alleged state losses due to cost overruns. This pressure comes in line with the steps taken by the KPK which has started the investigation stage since the beginning of the year.

The former KPK investigator, Praswad Nugraha, considered that the disclosure of alleged corruption in the ambitious project of the era of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) did not require extraordinary capabilities, but the total independence of the Anti-corruption Commission.

"KPK only needs to explore who approved the value of the procurement carried out, causing the state to pay more," Praswad said in a written statement, Monday, November 3, 2025.

According to him, the KPK only needs to investigate the roles of each party formally in the procurement process, and then find out who ordered the process.

The Prestige Project That Swelled Billions Of Dollars

Thectionsh project is Indonesia's collaboration with China, serving the 142.3 kilometer Jakarta-Bandung route. Initially, the value of this project was targeted to be only $5.13 billion (around Rp82.08 trillion). However, this figure experienced a significant swelling of US$1.2 billion, bringing the total cost to US$7.27 billion or equivalent to Rp115 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp16,000).

This cost swelling is the entry point for alleged corruption crimes that are now being investigated by the KPK.

The Independence Of The KPK Is At Stake

Praswad Nugraha emphasized that the key to disclosing this case is independence. Given that everything is a prestige project that has high strategic value, this investigation is vulnerable to political intervention.

"This will be a test of the independence of the KPK through proving whether the KPK can seriously carry out the law enforcement process on this case," said Praswad.

The Investigation Process Continues To Roll

Information regarding the investigation into the alleged corruption case was first conveyed by the Acting Deputy for Enforcement and Execution of the KPK, Asep Guntur, on Monday, October 27, 2025.

The KPK spokesman, Budi Prasetyo, ensured that the investigation process had been running smoothly, and requests for information to several related parties so far were cooperative.

"So far, parties who have been invited and asked for cooperative information. This means that this is also a positive step in investigating this case," Budi said on Saturday, November 1, 2025.

Budi emphasized that the investigative team will continue to investigate other parties to gather the information needed, signaling that the investigation of this case will continue.