The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Board has unanimously accepted the final report of a public consultation exercise on the project and authorised the setting up of collaborative agreement with the Palace Museum in Beijing. He said the collaborative agreement will be completed by the end of next month.
Chief Secretary and West Kowloon Cultural District Authority board chairman Matthew Cheung said: "The authority noted that the views collected through this exercise demonstrate clearly that there is strong support for the project to go ahead. The consultation also provided a wide range of useful suggestions on how to take the project forward and build a world-class museum."
The museum will be dedicated to the display and interpretation of artefacts from Beijing’s Palace Museum. It will be built at the western end of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) on the harbourfront next to the Art Park. Hong Kong Palace Museum will join the M+ museum of visual culture, the Freespace, the Lyric Theatre Complex and the Xiqu Centre with a range of facilities.
Cheung noted an opinion survey conducted by an independent consultancy found 52% of its 1,800 respondents supported the project, while 14.7% objected. “We will continue to listen carefully to the views of the community as we progress and take forward the project,” he said, adding that he project will benefit the West Kowloon Cultural District and Hong Kong as a whole.
"This project will be one of the most important steps to take to fulfil our vision of facilitating and enhancing cultural exchange and co-operation between Hong Kong, the Mainland and the world, as well as to enhance appreciation of a diverse range of art forms,” he said. "It is also an invaluable opportunity for us to showcase our commitment to develop the West Kowloon Cultural District into a world-class integrated arts and cultural district comprising local, traditional and international elements."
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