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View all search resultsWhoosh takeover in limbo after Purbaya ousted as finance minister
The government’s plan to assume direct ownership of the Indonesian stake in the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project is up in the air following the sudden removal of Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa as finance minister.
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A Whoosh train is seen on Oct. 2, 2023, after the inauguration of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway at Padalarang Station in Padalarang, West Java. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
T
he government’s plan to assume direct ownership of the Indonesian stake in the Whoosh Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is up in the air following the sudden removal of Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa as finance minister.
Purbaya had previously announced a plan for the domestic majority share in the Indonesian-Chinese joint venture to be transferred from a consortium of four state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to the Finance Ministry.
A day before the takeover scheduled for Sept. 15, President Prabowo Subianto abruptly ousted Purbaya as finance minister and appointed Suahasil Nazara as his replacement.
Asked about the plans for the Whoosh, which carries a substantial debt load, Purbaya told reporters after the ministerial handover on Tuesday that “it will depend on the new finance minister” and jokingly responded with “Alhamdulillah [thank God], I’m safe”.
Meanwhile, newly appointed Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara signaled on the same occasion that the Whoosh takeover plan would be delayed and handled later, Kompas.com reported.
Purbaya said on Sept. 8 that the debt restructuring for the railway project would involve Rp 1 trillion (US$56.4 million) in annual installments with an 80-year repayment period, which he deemed more manageable than initially anticipated, as reported by news agency Antara.
Previously, the scheme had a 40-year tenor with a 10-year grace period to repay the initial US$4.5 billion loan from China Development Bank.
