Explainer | Can a new financing plan get Hong Kong’s cash-strapped West Kowloon arts hub back on track?
- West Kowloon Cultural District Authority gets green light to sell residential development in arts hub’s second zone to replenish finances
The measures have given the cash-strapped West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WCKDA) a much-needed lifeline, with its initial HK$21.6 billion endowment from the government previously expected to run out in June of next year.
The Post breaks down the new measures and their potential impact on the premier arts hub.
1. What are the new measures?
The Executive Council earlier this week approved changes to the authority’s financing model, allowing the sale of a residential development in the district’s second zone, with the area previously not up for sale.
The district has set aside 20 per cent of 851,400 square metres (9.2 million sq ft) of gross floor area in the arts hub for residential development, which can now be sold to help shore up the managing authority’s finances.
The authority said that the earliest time it could tender land under the new system would be in two years.
It also stopped short of saying how much money it expected to raise through residential land sales to cover its financial obligations over the next decade.
