A day earlier, Coordinating Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono had said the repayment of Whoosh’s debt may be backed by the government and funded through the state budget, reported The Jakarta Post.
He said the government was preparing several restructuring options, including a “burden-sharing” scheme with relevant stakeholders in the project.
According to Agus, the Transportation Ministry, Finance Ministry, Office of the Coordinating Economy Minister and Danantara had agreed to share responsibility, while the government continued negotiations with the Chinese side on the debt restructuring process, The Jakarta Post reported.
Prabowo said Indonesia has sufficient financial capacity to maintain Whoosh’s operations without straining the state budget, Antara reported on Tuesday.
“There’s no need to worry. We will continue to serve and fight for the people,” he said.
Last week, Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said it was probing the Whoosh project. The KPK began collecting data and information in early 2025 and preliminary investigations are ongoing, Indonesian media outlets reported.
Former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD had raised the issue in his podcast on Oct 14, claiming that the construction cost per kilometre of Whoosh reached US$52 million, far higher than in China, where the cost was only US$17 million to US$18 million per kilometre.
“It’s three times higher — who increased it? Where did the money go?” Mahfud said in his podcast.
He also highlighted the transfer of the project contract from Japan to China in 2015 to 2016, which caused the loan interest rate to jump from 0.1 per cent (Japan’s offer) to 3.4 per cent (China’s contract). According to him, this significantly increased the project’s financing burden.
Mahfud, a vice-presidential candidate in Indonesia’s 2024 election, urged KPK to investigate those involved in the contract transfer.
In response, KPK said that it would act according to proper procedures and asked Mahfud to submit any official data or evidence he possessed.
In turn, Mahfud claimed that under criminal law, law enforcement should be able to follow up on indications of a crime even without a formal report. He said he was ready to comply with any KPK summons if his testimony was needed.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-whoosh-high-speed-rail-banyuwangi-surabaya-debt-funding-5450361
