The plan to build a V&A museum in Dundee will receive a major boost when the Scottish Government pledges almost £5 million to the project, The Courier can exclusively reveal.
Culture minister Fiona Hyslop will unveil details of initial funding of £4.8m during a visit to the Duncan of Jordanstone art college in the city on Wednesday morning.
Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick, who along with Dundee East MSP Shona Robison has lobbied for the funding to be put in place, said the news was a “key piece of the jigsaw” for the project.
It will mean Japanese architect Kengo Kuma can be brought in to head up the V&A’s design team and allow the project to begin hiring its own staff.
Mr Kuma was selected over around 120 other entries in a hotly-contested competition to design the iconic building on the Dundee waterfront.
The pledged money is around one third of the government contribution hoped for during the construction of the museum, which is due to open its doors by 2014.
The figure was arrived at after discussions with the project partners Dundee University, Abertay University, Dundee City Council, Scottish Enterprise and the V&A and will cover costs in the next financial year.
Ms Hyslop also reiterated the SNP administration’s “long-term commitment” to the project, saying further “substantial” capital contributions will be made to costs in future spending rounds.
“The V&A at Dundee will be great for the city as well as benefiting the whole of Scotland, acting as a magnet for visitors from all over the world,” she said.
“Scotland’s strong and vibrant creative industries are a high growth sector which already employ more than 63,000 people and contribute more than £5.2 billion to the Scottish economy annually.”
She added, “Alongside the city’s very successful games sector, the V&A at Dundee presents quite an opportunity to grow Dundee’s reputation as a centre for the creative industries sector.”‘Full speed’Ms Hyslop added that the funding would be a “sound basis” to allow project bosses to search for other backers.
It is hoped a third of the anticipated £45m total project cost will come from private means, with the remainder coming from other sources such as lottery funding.
Ms Hyslop said, “We have reaffirmed our longer-term commitment to helping realise the V&A at Dundee and our intention remains to make a substantial capital contribution to the overall construction costs.”
Dundee University principal Professor Pete Downes expressed his “delight” at the funding, which he said would allow the project to “progress at full speed.”
He said, “The university is a critical economic and cultural hub for the city and we will continue to lend considerable support and expertise to the V&A at Dundee project as it develops.
“The funding announced today will allow the project to appoint its own staff and progress rapidly in all areas including wider fund-raising and development as well as working with architect Kengo Kuma and partners.”
He added, “This will complement the staffing and resource already given to the project by the partners, the universities of Dundee and Abertay Dundee, Dundee City Council, Scottish Enterprise and the V&A.”
V&A projects and design director Moira Gemmill said, “This funding enables Design Dundee Limited to appoint the design team and push ahead with the detailed design of Kengo Kuma’s beautiful building for the V&A at Dundee.”
Mr FitzPatrick said, “Confirmation that the Scottish Government’s funding is in place will be a key piece of the jigsaw and is crucial to securing the investment needed from private backers.
“We have a fantastic design team in place and the V&A board and their partners have been very energetic in pulling the components of this project together and deserve our congratulations for their effective and successful work on behalf of the city.”
He added, “The V&A at Dundee project is a fantastic, once-in-a-generation opportunity for the city which we must grasp with both hands.”
The winning design by Mr Kuma was chosen in November and is due to go on display at the Scottish Parliament, along with the five runners-up, next week.
The museum will ultimately create 900 local jobs in Dundee and bring an additional 500,000 visitors to the city every year. It will pump in excess of £5 million into the economy annually.
The next year will see the museum move from design concept to architectural reality, with physical site preparation works expected to begin.
A project director will also be appointed and a project office established in the city.
A new exhibition of the V&A design models, including an all-new mock-up of the Kuma design, will also go on display.