The government has revealed plans to build a 5,000-square-metre exhibition hall in the Northern Metropolis to showcase the New Territories mega project, following a shelved proposal for a gallery to highlight Hong Kong's major developments.

Development secretary Bernadette Linn on Wednesday told the Legislative Council that authorities earlier decided against going ahead with constructing the gallery on the Wan Chai North waterfront as it could not "meet the immediate need to attract enterprises and investment to the Northern Metropolis".

Responding to a lawmaker's query on plans to showcase major development projects, the minister said the administration is looking to build a "larger and multi-purpose core exhibition gallery" in Kwu Tung North and aiming to put the first phase into use next year.

She said the exhibition gallery would adopt more innovative technologies and multimedia presentations to highlight the area's development.

"We chose Kwu Tung North as the location of this new Northern Metropolis exhibition gallery due to its proximity to the East Rail Line's Kwu Tung Station, which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2027, offering convenient transport access," Linn said.

"The site is also close to a museum showcasing national development and achievements in Kwu Tung North, to allow for the future development of an exhibition cluster."

Commercial-sector lawmaker Erik Yim suggested having a private firm finance and build the exhibition complex before handing over ownership to the government, as a way to attract enterprises to the Northern Metropolis.

Linn, in response, welcomed the suggestion and said the administration would be willing to cooperate if companies wish to invest in such a project.

Liberal Party lawmaker Michael Lee, for his part, urged officials to consider making use of popular IP such as Labubu and Ne Zha to promote the Northern Metropolis development.

The minister said the government would look into "more interesting ways" to publicise the megaproject.