The rehabilitation project of the 23.8 kilometer Edsa, the main road of Metro Manila, may not begin this year due to the rainy season, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Sunday.

"I don't think it will be practical actually to start now (the) rehabilitation of EDSA because of the rains that will cause more delay and will make the rehabilitation more difficult to execute", Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan said in a radio interview.

"This is what the President would like to avoid ... so I think it will be more practical to start it during the dry season", Bonoan added.

This comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., on June 1, ordered a one-month suspension of the Edsa rehabilitation project and for it to be done in less than the original two years due to potential hardship for motorists and commuters.

Bonoan said that despite being in the process of looking at new technologies and materials to fasten the rehabilitation, it may only start "until such time the rain decreases ... maybe towards the end of the year". Marie Manalili/DMS