JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is probing the country’s Whoosh high-speed rail (HSR) project.
The 142km line from Jakarta to Bandung, Southeast Asia’s first HSR, began operating commercially in 2023 and ferries 20,000 to 30,000 passengers daily. It cost about US$7.3 billion, three quarters of which was financed by Indonesia through loans from the China Development Bank.
The KPK began collecting data and information in early 2025 and preliminary investigations are ongoing, Indonesian media outlets reported.
“Our probe has been ongoing since the beginning of this year, and we are still gathering the necessary information to uncover the case,” said KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo on Monday (Oct 27), as reported by The Jakarta Post.
He added that KPK cannot disclose more details on the probe, including potential suspects.
EX-MINISTER’S PODCAST CLAIMS
The corruption allegation surfaced when former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD raised the issue in his podcast on Oct 14.
Mahfud claimed 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.
Meanwhile, Eva Chairunisa, Corporate Secretary of Whoosh’s operator PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), stated the company would fully cooperate with KPK’s investigation.
A group of state enterprises called PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia holds a 60 per cent stake in KCIC.
The total debt of PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia stands at US$3.26 billion (54 trillion rupiah), with an estimated annual interest burden of US$74.5 million (Rp1.2 trillion).
Whoosh was recently in the news over debt financing concerns, with Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa ruling out state budget spending to service its debt. Purbaya said the state-owned enterprises involved in Whoosh were managed by sovereign wealth fund Danantara.
Jakarta is in talks with Beijing to restructure the China Development Bank loan.
The 142km HSR connects four main stations — Halim, Karawang, Padalarang, and Tegalluar — with a travel time of about 45 minutes between Jakarta and Bandung.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-whoosh-high-speed-rail-corruption-probe-5432521
