Bappenas Hands Over High-Speed Railway Project to Ministries

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - National Development Planning Agency Minister Sofyan Djalil refused to comment on an agreement related to the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train project. Sofyan said that the project used a business-to-business scheme and was handled by relevant ministries.

“We have nothing to do with the project, because it’s a public and private partnership (PPP) program,” Sofyan said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, January 28, 2016.

The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Transportation Ministry and the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry had direct authorities on the project.

PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-Cina (KCIC), the consortium handling the project, requested a guarantee from the government in case of development or operation failure. The state guarantee was reportedly set as one of the clauses in the draft agreement, which is currently discussed by the Transportation Ministry and PT KCIC.

Public policy observer Agus Pambagio viewed that the government would not be able to provide a guarantee as stated by Presidential Regulation No. 107/2015 on the Acceleration Infrastructure for Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway Project. Agus added that the regulation did not mention state capital participation for the project.

“Moreover, a consortium is not a state-owned company,” Agus told Tempo.

ADITYA BUDIMAN