Hong Kong's arts hub needs the support of all stakeholders

No infrastructure project in the city has a more troubled history than the West Kowloon Cultural District. Beset with planning problems, overblown budgets and merry-go-round personnel changes, the HK$21.6 billion arts hub development has long become a drama itself before any performances or even exhibition venues are in place.

Adding to the long list of woes is the loss of its second CEO in just four years. Announcing his premature resignation on Tuesday, Michael Lynch said his wife had been seriously ill and he therefore wanted to spend more time with her and the family. The Australian was expected to work at least until the middle of next year, after his first three-year contract had been renewed last year. His British predecessor, Graham Sheffield, only stayed for a few months.

Whether other reasons are at play remains unclear. But the troubled past has inevitably fuelled speculation that government red tape may be to blame. Both Lynch and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who oversees the project, denied there was any discord.

The job Lynch has left behind is far from easy, not only because the project is one of the most ambitious in the city's history. It also requires a rare combination of artistic background, management experience and, above all, political skills. As Lynch rightly cautioned, his successor should possess local knowledge, connections with the art world and an understanding of the complex politics in the city.

Comfort is to be found in that construction for the M+ Museum, the Xiqu Centre for Chinese opera performances and a park has already begun. The immediate challenge, however, is to seek extra funding from an assertive Legislative Council. With the funding approval procedure currently bogged down by lawmakers' filibustering, the outlook is hardly promising. To avoid further delay, lawmakers should put aside their political agenda and consider the funding seriously when it is tabled.

For some 17 years, the prime waterfront site has been little more than an abandoned area. It is to be hoped that a new leader can soon be identified to help speed up the development.