The plaza will cover 67,000 sq.m on a site located close to the Thang Long - Ha Noi highway. It will include business offices, restaurants and display areas to showcase building materials and interior design products.

"It will be a place for investors, manufacturers and consumers to come together," said Deputy Minister of Construction Tong Van Nga at the briefing.

The building materials industry experienced an average annual growth rate of 10 per cent over the past decade, while local demand increased by as much as seven-fold over the same period.

"The building materials market is scrambling to meet increasing demand from the nation’s urban, residential and industrial construction boom," said Tran Van Huynh, chairman of the Viet Nam Building Materials Association.

"Trading at small street-front shops and scattered showrooms has proven to be inadequate," he said. He said that such shops could not meet the needs of contractors and customers with very specific needs. "Many small street-front shops sell products without clear proof of origin, and with variable quality and prices," he added.

The new centre will help customers compare product quality and price, select from a wide range of different brands, and choose what is right for them, he said.

A Melinh Plaza representative said about 70 per cent of the plaza’s floor space has been registered for lease. He said the centre will be managed by CB Richard Ellis, and is expected to rent 20-30 per cent of its floor space to foreign businesses.

Being just a 30 minute drive from downtown Ha Noi, the plaza will not only attract customers from the capital, but those from northern economic zones as well, Romauch said.

The company is confident about the future of the building materials industry, especially as Ha Noi continues to grow.

If the recent plan from the Ministry of Construction to expand Ha Noi receives Governmental approval, a series of infrastructure projects will be carried out to expand Ha Noi City into seven neighbouring provinces.