KAI Gets Rp6.9tn Loan from China for Whoosh

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) signed a facility agreement with the China Development Bank for financing the cost overrun of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train or Whoosh project.

As reported on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), KAI said the loan disbursement was received on February 7, 2024, for two facilities totaling Rp6.9 trillion.

Facility A amounted to US$230.99 million or Rp3.6 trillion, at an assumed exchange rate of Rp15,603 per US dollar. Meanwhile, Facility B was valued at US$217.08 or Rp3.3 trillion.

“The loan disbursement was immediately transferred to PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia on February 7, 2024,” said KAI Executive Vice President of Corporate Secretary, Raden Agus Dwinanto Budiadji, in his statement quoted on February 16.

Earlier this year, Deputy Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Kartika Wirjoatmodjo revealed that the KAI had suppressed debt from China for the country’s bullet train project. “[We had] signed the deal, but I forgot the number,” Tiko said at Waskita Rajawali Tower in East Jakarta on January 8, 2024.

The cost of the Whoosh project ballooned to US$7.2 billion or Rp108 trillion, from an initial requirement of about US$5.13 billion or Rp76 trillion. To cover the rising costs, China offered loan interest rates of 3.7 to 3.8 percent. “That will be KAI’s loan. That is KAI's capital injection,” Kartika said.

YOHANES MAHARSO | RIANI SANUSI PUTRI 

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