Running along four miles (six kilometers) of the 2,000-mile border with Mexico, the new section will replace existing fencing along the boundary between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.

"This new wall will be far more durable and far more effective in deterring would-be illegal entrants," Aaron Hull, Chief Patrol Agent in the El Paso sector, said in the statement.

It said the existing fencing will be replaced by an 18-foot (5.4 meter) steel post barrier which allows Border Patrol agents to see through to the other side.

The $22-million project is to be completed in about seven months.

In April, the Border Patrol announced the start of construction of a 20-mile stretch of wall to replace an existing barrier in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.