Hong Kong’s development minister has defended a HK$700 million price tag for a planned exhibition hall in Wan Chai to showcase the city’s major infrastructure projects, saying that construction costs will be comparable to other government buildings.
Speaking on Commercial Radio on Thursday, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn shrugged off concerns about the price tag for the project, which the Development Bureau has said could cost between HK$600 million to HK$700 million.
“If we take into account the gross floor area, the average construction cost is comparable with that of other government buildings,” Linn said in Cantonese.
The construction of the gallery was first proposed in Chief Executive John Lee’s 2023 Policy Address, to showcase “major construction projects” including the Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands.
Funding applications
According to a Development Bureau document submitted to the Legislative Council’s Panel on Development for discussion on Tuesday, the construction cost of the gallery falls under funding for the San Tin Technopole, a planned 600-hectare tech hub situated near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China.
Lawmakers on the panel on Tuesday criticised the government for attempting to hide the exhibition hall’s construction costs in a HK$30 billion application for the technopole’s first round of works.
In light of those concerns, Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho said that the government would separate the hall’s funding application from the San Tin project. Linn on Thursday also said that further information would be revealed once the funding application moved to the legislature’s public works subcommittee.
The planned hall would provide a larger exhibition space than that available at City Gallery in Central, Linn said. She pointed to Singapore’s urban development exhibition hall, which “had everything in one place.”
Lawmaker Vincent Cheng, who sits on the development panel, on Tuesday urged the government to feature the two projects at the City Gallery instead of building a new hall.
Fellow lawmaker Edward Leung asked the government to consider rebuilding the City Gallery or renting a Grade A commercial property to house the exhibits.
The site earmarked for the exhibition, located on Fenwick Pier Street in Wan Chai, is zoned for Government, Institution and Community use. That meant it was not designated for commercial purposes, Linn said, addressing concerns lawmakers’ about whether the government was making full use of the “prime” site.
A proposal including the estimated construction fees, about HK$600 million to HK$700 million, was included in the bureau’s document.
‘Unlimited potentials’
The gallery is proposed to be three to four storeys high, with a total gross floor area between 8,000 to 10,000 square metres. It will allow visitors to experience the “unlimited potentials of the two strategic development projects in an innovative, interactive and diversified manner.”
See also: Hong Kong’s San Tin Technopole plan may breach China’s conservation policies, green groups claim
Construction work will begin next year, with a completion target of 2027, at the earliest. The gallery will be a permanent fixture, while exhibition contents will be updated as appropriate, according to the bureau.
The technopole is the centrepiece of the proposed Northern Metropolis development project, aimed at integrating northern districts such as Yuen Long and Sheung Shui, as well as supporting the city’s technological ambitions.
The government last month said it would proceed with its plan to build the tech hub, despite an activist’s pending legal challenge.
The High Court granted activist and social worker Eddie Tse’s application to challenge authorities’ approval of an environmental report for the development of the San Tin Technopole. Tse has argued that the project could cause severe harm to “precious land of ecological value.”
