WKCD to implement water taxis by year-end

Visitors will be able to access the West Kowloon Cultural District more easily by taking water taxis and getting off outside the M+ Museum by the end of the year, said West Kowloon Cultural District Authority chief executive Betty Fung Ching Suk-yee.

A new route between Central Pier 8 and the district’s southern landing facility -- which is now under construction -- will commence service by the end of the year, said Fung on Thursday.

“It will take just minutes to travel from Central to WKCD with the new route, helping to attract more tourists and citizens to visit the district,” she said.

It is understood that the government will appoint a ferry company to run the route, which will operate from noon until evening in its first stage. Ferries on the route may also be decorated with artistic elements.

The authority will seek cooperation with cruise companies, hotels and the tourism sector to increase visits to the district, Fung added.

Meanwhile, Fung estimated that the district's recurrent operating deficit, excluding interest income, should stay at HK$1billion for the fiscal year 2024/25, similar to last year. The underlying operating deficit, including interest income, for the fiscal year 2023/24 was HK$578 million, a 20 percent decline from a year ago.

Ticket sales, rent and event sponsors each accounted for one-third of operational revenue.

However, Fung said ticket sales are less stable as it heavily depends on the popularity of exhibitions.

Revenue from ticket and museum merchandise sales fell by 20 percent last year because of an exceptionally strong performance from the year before with the Sanxingdui and Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama exhibitions, Fung said.

She expects income from exported exhibitions and performances from overseas in the future, with a successful example being Kusama’s exhibition, which brought in more than HK$10 million.

The first WestK Shanghai Week is to be held in June and will include exhibitions featuring architect Ieoh Ming Pei and the musical The Impossible Trial.

Despite deploying an effective strategy for cost cutting and revenue expansion, the district's HK$21.6 billion reserve will dry up by the end of this year, six months later than forecast. It has obtained a HK$5 billion sustainability-linked loan facility as well.

M+ Museum recorded over 2.6 million visitors while Hong Kong Palace Museum saw 1 million visitors, with more than 60 percent comprised of tourists.

To support district operations, the government has allowed it to sell around 170,000 square meters of residential development.

The authority plans to apply to the Town Planning Board for permission to enact its residential development plan in the first quarter this year, Fung said.

The authority earlier outlined a development plan to build seven residential buildings, which would provide up to 1,995 flats and is estimated to bring in HK$10 billion.

Fung expects the application to go through subsequent processing by the end of the year before it is delivered to the Development Bureau for further review.

She admitted that the time needed to get final approval remains uncertain.

The district will hold seven exhibitions this year, such as an exhibition featuring Spanish artist Picasso at M+ Museum in conversation with artists such as Taiwanese-born American artist Lee Mingwei, who will create a sand painting based on Picasso’s Guernica, which depicted the Spanish Civil War.

The Palace Museum will stage the city’s first major Islamic art exhibition in June and showcase 110 artworks of the ancient Mughal Empire in August.

(Ayra Wang)