Article
Analisis Megaproyek Kereta Cepat Whoosh dalam Perspektif Megaprojects and Risk Bent Flyvbjerg
ETNOREFLIKA : Jurnal Sosial dan Budaya, Vol. 15 No. 2 (2026), hlm. 210–223
Abstrak
This study examines the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project (Whoosh) as an infrastructure megaproject that is discursively framed within a New Public Management (NPM) logic, yet in practice exhibits the failure patterns described by Bent Flyvbjerg’s Megaprojects and Risk framework. The research adopts a qualitative, with a desk research design through a drawing on books, scholarly articles, policy reports, official documents, and online and social media coverage. Data were analysed through document and thematic analysis using the categories of optimism bias, strategic mis-representation, lock-in, and critical perspectives on public–private partnership (PPP) schemes. The findings show that, from the planning stage, Whoosh was shaped by political contestation, a shift of preferred partner from Japan to China, a contested route design (relatively short distance, non-central station locations), and overly optimistic demand and benefit projections. During implementation, the project experienced significant cost overruns, schedule delays, and a shift in the financing structure that ultimately involved the state budget through equity injections and government guarantees, contradicting early claims that it would be purely “B2B” and “off-budget”. In the operational phase, heavy debt and state-owned enterprise losses indicate that core risks remain concentrated on the state. These results support the thesis of the survival of the unfittest and highlight the need for stronger evidence-based planning, contract transparency, genuine risk-sharing arrangements, and a public value–oriented evaluation framework for future infrastructure megaprojects in Indonesia.