Mark Rutte visited West 8’s West Kowloon Cultural District Park

The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr Mark Rutte paid an official visit to Hong Kong on 8 and 9 April 2018. This commemorated as an historical moment since it was the first time that a Dutch Prime Minister came to Hong Kong, ever since the Netherlands opened its first consulate in the city in 1857.

During his two days in Hong Kong, Mr. Rutte paid a field visit to West Kowloon Cultural District Park, a design by West 8 in collaboration with local partners Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers, and Acardis HK (formerly ACLA). West 8 began the design of the Art Park in 2014 for WKCD’s Park Development Authority. The park is designed upon the master plan of the etire cultural district by Sir Norman Foster. Together with project partners, West 8 is currently also supervising the ongoing construction phase of park and district public relam and landscaping.

During his visit, the Prime Minister met with the Acting Chief Executive, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung and officiated the opening of the new premises of the Consulate General. Other highlights included a round table meeting on Green Finance, officiated by Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan Mo-po. He afterwards paid visit also to the Dutch business community in Hong Kong.

The visit coincided with the start of the 4th edition of the Dutch Days Hong Kong, a month filled with Dutch cultural activities, co-organized by the Consulate General and Asiaweek Hong Kong. His visit to the city was his first stop on a broader trip to China.

This aerial video shows the recent construction of the park and the entire West Kowloon Cultural District. More constrcution update can be found at the project official website.