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Appeal Court overturns bridge ruling

www.rthk.org.hk

The Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court judgment blocking construction of the Hong Kong section of the bridge linking Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai. The lower court had ruled that the government failed to conduct a proper environmental impact assessment of the multi-billion dollar project because it failed to project air quality if the bridge was not built. But the three appeal court judges said a “with-or-without-bridge”

comparison of air quality was not necessary, since the administration was in any case required to minimise pollution.

Download PDF : cacv 84 of 2011 judgement[16]

Clear the Air says:

This is a disastrous defining moment for Hong Kong and an interpretation of the Ordinance which ignores the need for primacy of public health and protection of child health in particular.
The ruling appears to be perverse in that the building of the bridge is clearly a major potential driver of pollution. The suggestion that “comparison of air quality is not necessary” seems the negate the entire field of environmental health impact assessment. The implications of that for population health in the PRD are very serious.
This is a major blow to environmental health science and public health advocacy.

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