October 16, 2025 | 08:53 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chair of Indonesia's National Economic Council (DEN) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan explained the issue of debt related to the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Train (Whoosh), which has been the subject of recent discussions. He mentioned that since the beginning, Whoosh has been a problematic project, and the government has been resolving the issue through negotiations with the China Development Bank.
Luhut believes it is still necessary to discuss the matter of Whoosh because he has been involved in the project since its inception. "Since the beginning of the construction, I have received substandard goods. Then, we tried to repair and audit it. We negotiated with China, and China is willing," said Luhut during a discussion at JS Luwansa Jakarta on Thursday, October 16, 2025.
Luhut urges various parties not to comment extensively if they do not have a broad understanding and data basis regarding the Whoosh high-speed train. According to him, the government must be solid and compact in solving all the country's issues. "So, my advice is, if we do not understand the data, let's not comment. Find the data first before commenting. That would be better," said Luhut.
He also questioned the proposal for repaying the Whoosh debt using the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN). He neither rejects nor recommends such a proposal. "We are fussing over Whoosh. What's the problem? It's just restructuring. Who asked for APBN? Nobody asked for APBN. Just restructuring," said Luhut.
Chief Executive Officer of Danantara Indonesia, Rosan Roeslani, mentioned that he has consulted with several ministries, including the Minister of Finance, regarding the resolution of the Whoosh debt to China Development Bank. "I have communicated the issue of Whoosh to all ministers, yesterday to Pak Purbaya as well. We are currently conducting a comprehensive evaluation of this settlement. Of course, in this evaluation, we provide options one, two, and three," said Rosan when met at JS Luwansa Jakarta on Thursday, October 16, 2025.
However, Rosan did not disclose to the media what options would be taken to settle the high-speed train debt. He only revealed that Danantara Indonesia is carefully considering the payment scheme for the debt. "Once the evaluation is completed, we will finalize it immediately. Then we will bring it for a joint decision on the best option," he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa previously stated that Danantara has around Rp90 trillion in state-owned enterprise dividends, while the annual debt for the high-speed train is Rp2 trillion. This amount is considered sufficient to repay the debt to China Development Bank, the main creditor when funding this project.
Purbaya stated that the repayment of the debt for the Whoosh high-speed train does not require using the state budget. "That is enough to cover the Rp2 trillion annual payment for the high-speed train. I believe the money is there in abundance every year," said the former Chairman of the Deposit Insurance Corporation after the Danantara Board of Supervisors Meeting at Danantara Building, Jakarta, on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
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