The man who is responsible for delivering the V&A at Dundee has said he is ”heartened” by the interest private investors are showing in the project.
Philip Long, director of the V&A at Dundee, was speaking after cabinet secretary Fiona Hyslop announced the Scottish Government will provide £3 million of funding for the museum in 2013/14.
Mr Long said continued Scottish Government support is helping to attract the private investment required.
”I think if I was a private investor and saw that at the highest level there was such substantial investment it would give me great confidence to invest,” he said.
”Our target for fundraising is completing the project. We are very pleased with the projections and the Scottish Government has promised a third of the capital costs
”Funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, announced earlier this year, is very significant, but we are very heartened with the contributions from private investors. Private fundraising is really beginning to show real progress.”
He added that the project is also attracting support from charitable trusts in Dundee and across Scotland.
Fiona Hyslop said the Kengo Kuma-designed museum will create tangible benefits for Dundee and Scotland as a whole.
The museum will be built out over the Tay and is scheduled to open to the public in 2015.
”We are living in difficult times financially, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do big things and this is big for Dundee,” she said. ”I love coming to Dundee because I think there is a real sense of purpose, creativity and vision in the city.
”The V&A is not just a building, it’s a statement of creativity that will bring enormous benefit to the city and give it an international reputation.
”If the V&A is a gift to Dundee, it is a gift the city has given to itself. It has had the creativity, vision, drive and partnership to realise the dream. It’s not just important to Dundee, it’s important to Scotland.
”It is something that will bring tangible benefits to the city for years to come.”
Ms Hyslop visited Dundee last week to be given an update on the project and to view an exhibition of V&A fashion photographs currently on display in The McManus.
The Scottish Government will provide a total of £18.261 million for the project, including the £3 million announced by Ms Hyslop. This includes £15 million to help meet the £45 million cost of building the museum.