HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government won a lawsuit in regard to its appeal against a lower court ruling that put down the environmental permit for the building of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge, the city's Court of Appeal made the judgment on Tuesday.

The Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department filed the appeal in May after its environmental permit issued to developers was quashed by the Court of First Instance which ruled in April that the department failed to offer a proper environmental impact assessment on the bridge project.

A retired local resident earlier challenged the department's decision on the bridge work in a judicial review, arguing the permit of the construction did not meet World Health Organization standards and would affect her health.

The bridge being built across the Pearl River estuary, linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao, has its Hong Kong section scheduled to start in late 2010 and to be completed in 2016. The estimated cost of the entire construction is 72.9 billion yuan ($11.4 billion).