Jakarta. Danantara Indonesia has yet to decide whether to support plans to import used electric trains from Japan, with the state investment agency set to discuss the proposal with Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi before weighing the costs, benefits and domestic production capacity.

Danantara Chief Operating Officer Dony Oskaria said he was scheduled to meet Dudy on Friday to discuss Kereta Api Indonesia’s (KAI) proposal to procure secondhand electric multiple units (EMUs) from Japan for Greater Jakarta’s commuter rail network.

“We need to assess the cost and benefits, including what we stand to gain and how the procurement would accelerate the development of public transportation. We will discuss this with the transportation minister,” Dony told reporters on Friday.

Dony said Danantara had not taken a position on the proposed imports, adding that the decision would depend on the commuter network’s fleet requirements and the available procurement options.

Domestic manufacturing capacity would also factor into the assessment, particularly the production capacity of state-owned train manufacturer Industri Kereta Api (INKA).

“We need to balance our needs against INKA’s production capacity. We will consider alternatives for any remaining requirements,” Dony said.

Asked whether Danantara would help finance the procurement of used trains from Japan, Dony said the matter remained under discussion and required further calculations.

“We need to discuss that further,” he said.

Earlier, KAI President Director Bobby Rasyidin presented the proposal to import used electric trains from Japan to the House of Representatives’ Commission VI, which oversees state-owned enterprises. The commission approved the proposal.

Bobby said KAI needed an additional 23 trainsets to meet operational requirements on the Greater Jakarta commuter rail network, with the proposed imports intended to fill the gap.

The additional fleet would comprise seven trainsets configured with 12 cars each, known as SF12, and 16 trainsets with eight cars each, known as SF8.

The expansion is intended to accommodate rising passenger numbers across the Greater Jakarta commuter rail network.

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