A 5,000-square-metre exhibition hall showcasing the in-the-making Northern Metropolis -- a township expected to house one-third of Hong Kong’s population -- will be built in Kwu Tung North, North District.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Wednesday the first phase of the facility is due to open next year.
She outlined the plan in response to legislators’ questions regarding the possibility of a more robust platform to engage the community and attract investment for the mega township’s construction.
It’s the latest move by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government to ramp up public and business, as well as capital support, for the city’s most ambitious urban development project in decades, encompassing an area tantamount to one-third of the SAR’s land mass adjacent to Shenzhen, Guangdong province.
Linn called the hall a “strategic leap” designed to supersede the scope and promotional impact of the current, limited Northern Metropolis exhibitions on view at community outreach centers and Central District’s City Gallery.
She said the facility’s location and initial phase are aimed to be in sync with Kwu Tung Station, also slated to be launched next year on the East Rail Line -- a key element of the planned Mass Transit Railway’s Northern Link project.
The hall would sit near a proposed pavilion on national development progress, with the vision of forming an exhibition precinct at the site.
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The SAR had previously halted a plan to build a major exhibition gallery in Wan Chai North featuring projects like the Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands. Linn said the longer-term idea of creating an “iconic venue” to highlight Hong Kong’s key infrastructure projects remains on the table.
She said the authorities are open to “more creative, fun” methods to raise the project’s profile. This could include novel partnerships with popular local cultural icons -- a point raised by a lawmaker who specifically suggested collaborating with intellectual property assets like the Labubu Doll.
The exhibition hall, for example, will feature a panoramic interactive platform capable of dynamically presenting the Northern Metropolis vista to visitors via multimedia displays.
Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com
