JAKARTA, October 2025 — Indonesia’s ambitious US$7.3 billion Jakarta–Bandung High-Speed Railway, known as “Whoosh,” is facing growing financial scrutiny as debates intensify over who should bear responsibility for its mounting debt. The project, hailed as a milestone in Southeast Asia’s infrastructure development, has become the center of a fiscal tug-of-war involving the government and its sovereign wealth fund.

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has made it clear that the state budget will not be used to service the railway’s debt. Instead, he emphasized that the responsibility lies with Danantara Indonesia, the country’s sovereign wealth fund that manages dividends from hundreds of state-owned enterprises. He argued that if Danantara benefits from state-owned company profits, it should also manage related financial obligations, calling the idea of using national funds for this purpose “ridiculous.”

The high-speed rail project is operated by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), a joint venture between Indonesian and Chinese partners, with most of the financing provided by the China Development Bank. Danantara reportedly receives tens of trillions of rupiah annually in dividends from its state-owned enterprise portfolio—resources that the finance ministry believes should be directed toward handling the railway’s liabilities.

At the same time, discussions have begun between Indonesia and China over possible debt restructuring measures. These talks could involve extending loan maturities or adjusting interest rates to ensure the project’s financial stability and operational continuity.

While the railway continues to operate, the financial challenges surrounding “Whoosh” underscore broader questions about Indonesia’s infrastructure financing model. The situation highlights the growing role of sovereign wealth funds in managing large-scale national projects and may set a precedent for how future public–private infrastructure ventures are structured in the region.