JAKARTA: The Finance Ministry will conclude in September its takeover of the local consortium in the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail (HSR), which operates under the brand name Whoosh, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has indicated.
Purbaya did not provide a date for the handover, only noting in a TikTok post last Sunday: “In September, the management of high-speed rail Whoosh will be under the Finance Ministry.”
He went on to say that its management would be placed under so-called special mission vehicles, a term referring to certain companies that operate directly under the Finance Ministry.
Until now, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) under state asset fund Danantara have held the government’s stake in the Jakarta-Bandung HSR.
He said the new arrangement would ensure that “the handling of the debt will be faster and not impose a direct burden on the state budget”.
The plan was unveiled in August after Purbaya met with Danantara chief operating officer Dony Oskaria during which the two agreed to transfer Whoosh’s operation and liabilities.
The rail service is operated by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China, a joint venture composed of Indonesian consortium PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI), which holds 60% of the stake, with the remainder held by Chinese consortium Beijing Yawan HSR Co Ltd.
PSBI is entirely made up of SOEs, with the largest share belonging to state railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia.
The Jakarta-Bandung HSR project incurred a cost overrun of over US$7.2bil, and its completion was made possible only on loans from the China Development Bank that carried it over the finish line.
Early projections showed that ticket revenue would not meet even half the operating cost, let alone servicing liabilities.
In the first half of this year alone, PSBI incurred a loss of 5.1 trillion rupiah, widening from the 4.9 trillion rupiah logged last year. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
