A public consultation will be conducted on the West Kowloon Cultural District's development through an exhibition of the proposals received.

Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang, who chairs the project's Steering Committee, said the exhibition is likely to take place early next year.

"The public consultation will help ensure the proposal eventually selected for the development of the district will be better received by the public and have greater public ownership," he said.

Since the launch of the Invitation For Proposal to develop the district on September 5, there has been a lot of interest in the community concerning the development. Various views have been expressed by different groups, particularly the arts and cultural sector and professional institutes.

On November 26 Mr Tsang announced the Government's decision to defer the deadline for submission of the proposals to June 19 to allow more preparation time for the proponents.

The Government will make use of the extension to conduct further consultation with relevant sectors. Extensive consultation has taken place over the past four months.

Giving the people their say

"The feedback collected so far, including that from the Town Planning Board, has shown there is a strong opinion that instead of being presented with the selected proposal, the public should be given the opportunity to view the various proposals received, so they can offer their comments," Mr Tsang said.

Exhibits prepared by the proponents showing details of the technical aspects of their proposals and the proposed arrangements regarding operation, maintenance and management of the arts and cultural facilities will be displayed. Since commercially sensitive information is involved, only the key elements regarding the financial aspects will be released.

All proposals that have satisfied the mandatory requirements will be exhibited. Public forums will also be held during the exhibition period. Comments will be compiled, and they will be taken into consideration in the process of negotiation and selection of the preferred proposal.