Construction works for the P50-billion Metro Cebu Expressway project will start in 2018, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

DPWH Secretary Mark Villar told local media during a press conference that it was Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino who proposed the building of the expressway to relieve the traffic issues in Cebu. He added that the project is in advanced planning and will be included in next year’s DPWH budget.

The expressway will provide Cebuanos and tourists with new and expanded roads as well as a few tunnels, according to Villar.

He said that this will be the biggest infrastructure project to be undertaken in Cebu.

“The Metro Cebu Expressway spans 74 kilometers from Naga City in the south to Danao City in the north,” Villar said.

Once completed, the DPWH secretary said that it will cut travel time from Danao City to Naga City from “3 hours to 1 hour and 25 minutes.”

Villar added that the project, which will be done in three phases, is expected to be completed within President Rodrigo Duterte’s term. The expressway is now a part of the Duterte administration’s #BuildBuildBuild programs under DPWH and the Department of Transportation.

Cebu furniture designer, Kenneth Cobonpue, in his capacity as chairperson of the Regional Development Council 7, supports the project.