Import of new commuter line trainsets: Fresh funds await KAI Commuter
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Bisnis Indonesia - Impor KRL baru: Dana segar menanti KAI Commuter
5 July 2023
By: Lorenzo A. Mahardhika
Jakarta - The government ensures that they will not abandon PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia after deciding not to import used commuter line (KRL) trainsets from Japan.
The State-owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry proposed that they would inject additional capital through state equity participation through PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) as the parent company of PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia or KAI Commuter.
SOE Deputy Minister II Kartika Wirjoatmodjo said that his agency has established communication with the Finance Ministry regarding the proposal to provide state equity participation for the KAI subsidiary in relation with the plan to import three new KRL trainsets from Japan.
“Yesterday, the decision [to import new KRL trainsets] was made. We just held a meeting with the Finance Minister,” he said after the Bisnis Indonesia 2023 SOE Exploration Team Launching event on Tuesday (4/7).
According to him, state equity participation is the only option that will be taken by the SOE Ministry to support the plan to import new KRL trainsets next year. However, Kartika is still reluctant about disclosing the state equity participation amount that will be provided to KAI in detail.
KAI Commuter is continuously preparing the plan to import three new KRL trainsets from Japan next year.
KAI Commuter Corporate Secretary VP Anne Purba said that her company was continuously coordinating with other SOEs and stakeholders to realise the import.
“Until now, everything is still on process, especially regarding funding,” she said when asked for a confirmation on Tuesday (4/7).
Anne explained that KAI Commuter was assessing 19 trainsets that will be retrofitted this year. However, Anne cannot mention when the retrofitting process will commence.
Besides purchasing three new KRL trainsets from Japan, KAI Commuter will also procure 24 new KRL trainsets made by PT Industri Kereta Api (Persero) or Inka until 2027 to fulfil their fleet requirement.
KAI Commuter has signed a contract with Inka to procure 16 new KRL trainsets that will be delivered in stages from 2025 to 2026 to increase their capacity.
Besides that, the company will also deliver eight new KRL trainsets from Inka in 2027. Hence, 24 new KRL trainsets will be delivered from the state-owned train producer until 2027.
State equity participation is one of the options considered besides using funding from KAI as their parent company. Funding certainty is reckoned to be crucial as adding more KRL trainsets is meant to improve their service to users.
Moreover, KAI Commuter is also studying the impact of the new KRL trainset procurement on the public service obligation (PSO) scheme that has been implemented to reduce the cost for KRL passengers.
Outside the plan
Meanwhile, Indonesia Transportation Society (MTI) Railway and Intercity Transportation Forum Chairperson Aditya Dwi Laksana reckoned that the plan to provide state equity participation for KAI Commuter to import three new KRL trainsets was appropriate.
He explained that importing new KRL trainsets was outside the plan of KAI Commuter as the company only allocated budget to import used KRL trainsets.
However, the government decided not to import used KRL trainsets, but to retrofit existing trainsets and purchase three new KRL trainsets.
He said that unplanned purchases could supress the cash flow of KAI Commuter that is currently recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Aditya also admits that importing new KRL trainsets using state equity participation can increase the burden on the state budget. On the other hand, KAI Commuter’s financial condition will be under more pressure if they only rely on funding from the company or from their parent company.
“As importing new [trainsets] is outside of the plan of KAI Commuter, the government must help with the financing, such as through state equity participation. If not, KAI Commuter’s cash flow will be massacred,” he stated.
He also warned that purchasing new trainsets required more cost, which could increase the operating cost of KAI Commuter.
The operating cost increase can be charged to the passengers by adjusting the tariff or to the government through PSO to reduce the tariff.
He also disclosed that the government had several options to finance the import of three new KRL trainsets. First, to purchase three new KRL trainsets using state equity participation that must be proposed to the House of Representatives (DPR).
Second, to import new KRL trainsets using a combination of funding from KAI Commuter and state equity participation.
Through the scheme, the government can cover the difference between the budget that KAI Commuter has allocated to import used KRL trainsets and the budget required to import new KRL trainsets.
The government previously decided not to grant KAI Commuter’s wish to import used KRL trainsets from Japan to revitalise their fleet.
The number of Greater Jakarta KRL trainsets that will be retired reaches 29 trainsets. In detail, 10 trainsets will be retired in 2023 and 19 trainsets will be retired in 2024.
The government’s reason is that importing used KRL trainsets will violate several regulations that was issued to protect the domestic industry.
“We have held a meeting and decided not to import used goods as they violate three regulations, namely a presidential regulation, a regulation from the Transportation Ministry, and a regulation from the Industry Ministry,” Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said.
Luhut guarantees that the service of Greater Jakarta KRL will remain optimum and there will be no issue during the retrofitting process.
“We will refurbish existing trainsets in Indonesia. Previously, experts have provided an explanation and [stated that] the issues could be resolved,” Luhut said.
