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The government has decided on the way forward for the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) development. The Bill to establish the WKCD Authority will be gazetted tomorrow (February 1) and introduced into the Legislative Council (LegCo) on February 20 for first reading.
Subject to passage of the Bill within this legislative year (mid-2008), the Government plans to set up the WKCD Authority later this year to take forward the project.
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, said, ¡§The WKCD is an important strategic investment in the development of culture and the arts in Hong Kong. It is also a major commitment of the Special Administrative Region Government in this area.¡¨
The Consultative Committee on the Core Arts and Cultural Facilities of the WKCD (Consultative Committee) submitted its recommendations report in June last year, proposing to construct a total of 15 performing arts venues of various types and sizes targeting different art forms in two phases. They include a concert hall, a Xiqu Centre, Great Theatre, Mega Performance Venue etc. As for museums, it recommends to establish a new type of cultural institution entitled ¡§M+¡¨ focusing on 20th ¡V 21st century ¡§visual culture¡¨. There will also be an Exhibition Centre focusing on arts, culture and creative industries. If all the recommendations are implemented, there will be an increase of 37% over the total capacity of Hong Kong¡¦s performance venues and the total space provision of public museums will increase by 52% in stages. This will bring a great relief to the acute shortage of performing venues and exhibition spaces, facilitating the long-term development of arts and culture.
The Government launched a three-month public engagement exercise in mid-September last year to explain the recommendations of the Consultative Committee and to solicit public views on the WKCD project.
Mr Tang said, ¡§The recommendations of the Consultative Committee had received general support from the public and we will set up the WKCD Authority as early as possible to follow up on the preparatory work for the project.¡¨
The purposes of the Authority will have to reflect the vision and objectives of the WKCD project, which include to contribute to the long-term development of Hong Kong into an international arts and cultural centre; to the enhancement of appreciation of a diverse and pluralistic range of the arts; to the development of cultural and creative industries; to the nurturing of local artists and arts groups; as well as to the provision of arts education to the local community.
A spokesman for the Home Affairs Bureau said, ¡§In fact, since late November last year, we have been consulting the LegCo Subcommittee on WKCD Development on the key provisions of the Bill for establishing the WKCD Authority and listened to the views of the public and deputations.¡¨
The spokesman said, ¡§We have incorporated these views into the bill as far as appropriate and practicable. We understand LegCo¡¦s concerns about having sufficient safeguards to ensure effective operation of the Authority and to meet with the aspirations of the community. Such safeguards have now been written into the proposed Bill. They include:
* Representation from different sectors
- The Board should consist of not more than 20 members, comprising a Chairman, who may or may not be a public officer, a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), 15 non-public officer members and three public officer members;
- at least five non-public officer members should, in the opinion of the CE, have knowledge of, or experience in, or exposure to, arts and cultural activities, and;
- at least one of the non-public officer members should be appointed from amongst the Legislative Council members.
* Consultation
The Authority should consult the public on matters relating to the development and operation of arts and cultural facilities and other related matters.
* Finance
In order to assure that the resources would be deployed in a prudent, accountable and transparent manner, the Bill stipulates that the Authority has to manage its finances with due care and diligence. It has to submit annually its corporate plan and business plan to the Government.
* Auditing mechanism
The Authority has to set up an Audit Committee and the Director of Audit may also conduct an examination into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the WKCD Authority has expended its resources in performing its functions.
* Others
The chairman and the CEO will be required to attend Legislative Council meetings, and answer questions upon Legislative Council¡¦s request. The mechanisms that generally apply to statutory bodies, such as the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, the Ombudsman Ordinance, will also be included in the Bill.¡¨
According to the analysis of public views received during the Public Engagement (PE) Exercise, there is overwhelming support for the overall vision and early implementation of the WKCD project. There is considerable support for clustering arts and cultural facilities with retail, dining and entertainment facilities. There is also strong support for low density development with more open space for leisure use. As for the governance structure, there is strong support for the establishing of a statutory body with a wide representation to develop and manage the WKCD, as well as for the Government to put in place measures to strengthen cultural software and humanware. (Analysis of major public views is at Annex 1)
The Home Affairs Bureau spokesman said, ¡§According to the analysis of the findings of the PE Exercise, there is strong support for the overall vision of the project, its early implementation and establishment of a statutory body to develop and manage the WKCD.¡¨
The WKCD Authority, as a dedicated statutory body to develop the WKCD project, will be tasked with the responsibility to implement the project from its planning to the operating stages. The major contents of the Bill include the functions, purposes and powers of the WKCD Authority; composition of its Board; planning matters and measures to safeguard public interests (Details are set out at Annex 2).
In addition, the Government will take forward the project through the following means:
(a) setting up a dedicated Planning Office for WKCD in the Home Affairs Bureau in the second quarter of 2008;
(b) seeking LegCo¡¦s approval in 2008 to provide an upfront endowment of $21.6 billion (Net Present Value in 2008) to the WKCD Authority mainly to finance the capital costs of the facilities managed by it;
(c) setting up an interim M+ at the former premises of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in Oil Street, North Point in 2008;
(d) designating the temporary use of the WKCD site to projects and activities relating to arts and culture before the full commissioning of the WKCD project.
According to the economic impact assessment conducted by the Government Economist for the WKCD project, the project is expected to bring about substantial economic benefits.
Tangible economic benefits
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* The project will bring about a cumulative $71 billion to Hong Kong¡¦s Gross Domestic Product (in present value terms and with operation stage of 46 years)
* There will be a creation of around 11 000 construction-related jobs and over 21 000 employment opportunities related to the operation of arts and cultural facilities.
* A large number of tourists are expected to visit the WKCD -- about 2.4 million every year upon the operation of Phase 1 core arts and cultural facilities.
Intangible benefits
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* WKCD will foster vibrant cultural creative industries, and the development of a creative economy, nurture local talents, attract and retain investors and talents, raise the quality of life, reinforce economic integration with Pearl River Delta as well as branding Hong Kong as a world city.
The spokesman said, ¡§To realise the vision and objectives of the WKCD project, the Government will have to implement timely a comprehensive strategy to strengthen development of software and humanware in arts, culture and creative industries, and increase resources for the development of arts and cultural software, nurture talents. We would also have to re-examine and reform our cultural policy, with a view to building up Hong Kong as an international cultural metropolis.¡¨
Ends/Thursday, January 31, 2008
Issued at HKT 20:38
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