The High Court turned down an application by the Society for the Protection of the Harbour to halt the government's reclamation of 23 hectares (57 acres) of Victoria Harbour in the downtown Central district.

The decision comes two months after the government lost its bid to overturn another court's ruling that halted plans to reclaim 29 hectares in another part of the harbour.

The projects have stirred widespread anger among Hong Kong residents who want to preserve the picturesque harbour, a top tourist draw flanked by skyscrapers. About half of the waterway has already been lost to decades of reclamation.

TERRA.WIRE