PREAH SIHANOUK, Cambodia, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said here on Thursday that using the Chinese-invested Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway would save both money and time.

The 187-km expressway, connecting the capital city of Phnom Penh with the international deep-water seaport province of Preah Sihanouk, has been open to the public since October after being under construction for more than three years.

"I'd like to call on the owners of trucking companies to use the expressway," Hun Sen said in a speech during a road inauguration in Preah Sihanouk province. "Using the expressway costs less than using the regular road, saving both fuel and time in supply chains."

Vasim Sorya, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said the 2-billion-U.S.-dollar freeway, invested by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, is the biggest single project under the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation between Cambodia and China.

"This is the first-ever expressway in Cambodia, and it will inject fresh impetus into Cambodia's economic and tourism development since it links the capital to the international deep-water seaport," he told Xinhua.

With two lanes for traffic in each direction plus an emergency lane on each side, vehicles will be able to reach their destinations within two hours through the expressway instead of four to five hours on National Road 4.