Jakarta. The Indonesian government will shoulder part of the operating costs for the Whoosh high-speed rail, which continues to face heavy debt from China, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The Jakarta–Bandung bullet train, operated jointly by Indonesian state-owned enterprises and a consortium of Chinese firms, remains under close supervision of Danantara, Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund overseeing all state-owned companies’ assets.

“Today we discussed that going forward, since Whoosh also carries out a public service obligation, part of its operational costs will be borne by the government,” said Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, CEO of Danantara and the country’s investment minister, after a meeting at the Presidential Palace.

He explained that under the proposed scheme, the government would allocate part of its budget to subsidize Whoosh’s operations, while the remaining costs would be distributed proportionally among stakeholders.

“There’s a law that states basic infrastructure and mass transportation are government responsibilities, while other infrastructure and operational costs can be borne by state enterprises or other business entities,” Rosan said.

Rosan’s remarks come amid growing debate over who should absorb Whoosh’s multibillion-dollar debt to the Chinese government.

The $7.27 billion high-speed rail project was financed primarily through a China Development Bank (CDB) loan, which covered about 75 percent of total costs at an annual interest rate of 2 percent.

Earlier, Danantara’s Chief Operating Officer Dony Oskaria had suggested several options, including returning full ownership of the Whoosh project -- along with its liabilities -- to the government. However, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa rejected the idea, arguing that Danantara receives hundreds of trillions of rupiah in dividends from state-owned companies each year that could be used to refinance the project’s debt.

Whoosh is managed by Kereta Cepat Indonesia–China (KCIC), a joint venture heralded as a flagship initiative of former president Joko Widodo and Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway. KCIC is 60 percent owned by Indonesia’s Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI) -- a consortium of four state firms -- and 40 percent by five Chinese companies. Within PSBI, national railway operator KAI holds the largest stake at 58.53 percent, making it the biggest absorber of project losses.

While Whoosh has drawn significant public interest since launching in October 2023, passenger numbers and ticket revenues have yet to offset its steep operating and financing costs.

KCIC reported a Rp 1.6 trillion ($100 million) loss in the first half of 2025, with KAI bearing Rp 951.48 billion of that total. The figure marked an improvement from Rp 2.4 trillion in losses during the same period in 2024. Across 2024, PSBI’s total losses reached Rp 4.2 trillion, of which KAI absorbed Rp 2.23 trillion, while state builders Wijaya Karya, Jasa Marga, and Perkebunan Nusantara VIII bore the remainder.

The Chinese consortium includes China Railway International Co. Ltd., China Railway Group Ltd., Sinohydro Corp Ltd., CRRC Corp Ltd., and China Railway Signal and Communication Corp.

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