Whoosh Rail Project Drains Rp1 Trillion From PT KAI in First Half of 2025

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JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — The Jakarta–Bandung high-speed rail project, known as Whoosh, has posted a loss of Rp1 trillion, equal to $61.8 million, in the first half of 2025, adding heavy pressure to the finances of PT Kereta Api Indonesia, the state railway operator and majority shareholder in the venture.

KAI’s consolidated financial report as of June 2025 showed that the loss stemmed from PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia, or PSBI, the project consortium in which KAI held a 58.53% stake. PSBI’s net loss contribution to KAI during the six-month period was Rp951.48 billion, equal to $58.8 million.

When combined with losses booked in the second half of 2024, KAI’s total deficit from Whoosh reached Rp1.9 trillion, equal to $117.4 million, over the past 12 months. For the full calendar year of 2024, the project recorded losses of Rp2.69 trillion, equal to $166.2 million.

PSBI was established as a joint consortium led by KAI together with several other state-owned enterprises, including construction company PT Wijaya Karya Tbk, or WIKA, and toll road operator PT Jasa Marga Tbk, or JSMR, to finance and manage the high-speed rail.

The total investment for Whoosh rose to $7.2 billion, equivalent to Rp116.54 trillion, based on an exchange rate of Rp16,186 per US dollar. The figure included a cost overrun of $1.2 billion, equal to Rp19.42 trillion, that emerged during construction.

Debt Restructuring on the Table

The government signaled it was preparing a restructuring plan to ease Whoosh’s debt burden. Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, chief executive of sovereign wealth fund BPI Danantara Indonesia, said on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, that his team was evaluating options for KCIC, the operating company of Whoosh.

“We were reviewing the restructuring plan,” Rosan said after a meeting at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in Jakarta. He did not specify the timing or scale of Danantara’s involvement but noted that any action must address the root of the problems across the group’s subsidiaries.

“This should not merely delay the issue. At the right moment we will announce our steps for restructuring KCIC or Whoosh,” Rosan added.