U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would not wait for negotiations with Mexico to be completed before starting to build a wall along the two countries’ border.

“I could wait about a year and a half until we finish our negotiations with Mexico which will start immediately after we get into office, but I don’t want to wait,” Trump said at a news conference.

He said his vice president-elect Mike Pence is “leading an effort to get final approvals through various agencies and through Congress for the wall to begin.”

“Mexico in some form ... will reimburse us,” Trump added.