Hong Kong’s West Kowloon arts hub gets green light to sell land parcels to boost income
- Premier arts hub given 10-year window for select lands and is expected to also use period to devise viable self-financing model
Yeung said the change meant the residential development in the district’s second zone would no longer be subjected to the build-operate-transfer model.
“The sale of the land will help the arts hub meet its financial obligations for a period of 10 years, but the authority will have to work out a viable, long-term commercial model,” he said.
Henry Tang Ying-yen, board chairman for the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, thanked the government for granting the body support without resorting to using taxpayers’ money.
“The decision to ease the restrictions on selling the land will meet our goal of not adding to the government’s financial burden,” he said.
Tang said the new funding arrangements would mean the authority could avoid drastic cost-cutting measures such as reducing open days at the M+ museum and Hong Kong Palace Museum.