As Honolulu's multibillion-dollar mass-transit project moves forward, the city is now looking for a new transportation director.

Melvin Kaku, who has held the post for nearly two years, will step down in December to become director of Emergency Management.

"I'm pleased that Mel Kaku has accepted this well-deserved appointment," Mayor Mufi Hannemann said in a statement. "He has developed considerable experience in civil emergency management as a colonel with the U.S. Army Reserve and will offer his expertise to strengthening our operations."

Hannemann is considering candidates for the transportation job but has not specified any deadline for a decision, a spokesman said.

The Emergency Management Department was created this year to encompass the old O'ahu Civil Defense agency and include some new personnel and responsibilities.

The shift comes at an important time for the planned transit system — the city's largest public works project ever. A city contractor is preparing a major environmental study and preliminary engineering for the estimated $5 billion system, which is to run from East Kapolei to Manoa and Waikiki.

Before becoming transportation director, Kaku was the director of the Environmental Planning Division of the Pacific Division of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, based at Pearl Harbor.