Chairman of the National Economic Council (DEN), Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, firmly stated that no party has ever requested the use of Indonesia’s State Budget (APBN) to pay off PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC)’s debt to China.

He made this clarification in response to the ongoing debate over the debt burden of the Jakarta–Bandung High-Speed Rail (KCJB) project, also known as Whoosh, operated by KCIC.

According to Luhut, the issue can be resolved through debt restructuring.

“We keep arguing about Whoosh, but the real problem is only restructuring. No one has ever asked to use the APBN for that,” he said during the event “One Year of Prabowo–Gibran Administration” in Jakarta, Thursday (Oct 16, 2025).

Luhut previously served as the head of the Jakarta–Bandung High-Speed Rail Committee, a role assigned by Indonesia’s 7th President, Joko Widodo, in 2021 when he was still the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment.

He explained that he had spoken directly with the Chinese government regarding the settlement of the project’s debt, and China had agreed to allow Indonesia to restructure it.

Project’s financial condition has been poor from the start

Luhut revealed that the project’s finances were already problematic since the beginning. Therefore, an audit and financial recovery process had been carried out with the assistance of Indonesia’s Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP).

“I discussed this with China because I’ve been involved since day one. The project was already in bad shape when I received it, so we worked on fixing it, conducted audits through BPKP, and held negotiations with China,” he explained.

“China has agreed to proceed with restructuring. The only delay was caused by the government transition. Now, we’re just waiting for a Presidential Decree (Keppres) so that the negotiation team can move forward. China is ready—there’s no issue,” he added.

Prabowo to issue Presidential Decree on KCIC debt

Luhut further said that President Prabowo Subianto would soon issue a Presidential Decree (Keppres) to address KCIC’s debt to China, which will formalize the debt restructuring process.

“The restructuring is ongoing. From my office, Seto handles the technical details. As of this morning, we’re only waiting for the decree,” said Luhut.

“There will be a Keppres defining the negotiation team, and I’ve coordinated with Mr. Rosan since I used to handle the matter. I’ve already informed him to ensure continuity,” he continued.

According to Luhut, Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani has agreed to jointly handle KCIC’s debt resolution.

When asked whether the repayment would come from Danantara’s dividends, Luhut said it was still under review. He estimated that the repayment model could be similar to how the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project’s financial issues were resolved through restructuring.

“We’ll see later. Just like the LRT case, there might be a few trillion rupiah gap that can be repaid in installments to keep operations running,” he explained.

“The LRT also had financial problems, but after restructuring, everything was settled. The same approach applies to the high-speed rail,” he asserted.

Danantara conducts in-depth evaluation of KCIC debt

Meanwhile, Danantara CEO Rosan P. Roeslani stated that his team is currently conducting an in-depth evaluation of KCIC’s debt. The results will be submitted to ministries involved in the Whoosh project.

Rosan said several repayment options are being considered.

“We’ve identified several options and will present them once our evaluation is complete—to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transportation, the Coordinating Ministry, and others,” Rosan said after attending the Forbes Global CEO Conference at St. Regis, Jakarta, Wednesday (Oct 15, 2025) night.

“We want a thorough evaluation first before jointly deciding which option to take,” he added.

When asked whether KCIC would bear the debt fully, Rosan said the final decision would be made public once the study is finished.
He noted that Danantara had already held multiple meetings with relevant ministries and institutions to discuss the issue.

“Once the comprehensive analysis is complete, we’ll determine what each ministry requires because Danantara cannot act independently,” he emphasized.

Finance Minister insists APBN will not cover KCIC debt

The debate over KCIC’s debt resurfaced after Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa made clear that the state budget (APBN) would not be used to pay the company’s debt to China.

He explained that Danantara, as the entity managing all state-owned enterprise assets, must handle the repayment.

“KCIC is under Danantara’s management, which means they have their own governance,” Purbaya said in Bogor, Saturday (Oct 11, 2025).

KCIC, which operates the Jakarta–Bandung high-speed rail (Whoosh), is owned 60% by four Indonesian SOEs through PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI): PT KAI, PT Jasa Marga, and PT Wijaya Karya.

Purbaya proposed that the debt repayment should be made using dividends from state-owned enterprises collected by Danantara instead of using the APBN.

“They generate around Rp 80 trillion in dividends annually. That should be enough to handle the KCJB debt—no need to burden the state budget,” he said.

He also noted that SOE dividends are no longer classified as non-tax state revenue (PNBP) because they have been separated from state finances.

“Otherwise, the government would keep bearing all the financial burdens, including dividends. That’s why it’s important to separate the private and government sectors,” Purbaya concluded.