The temple was built in 1991 on an area of 4.5 hectares and was inaugurated on August 21, 2008.

Maha Vihara Maitreya was built as a place of worship for Buddhists adherent in Medan in particular, and North Sumatra in general, given the large number of ethnic Chinese living in the city.

In the second building of the Maitreya Baktisala area with a capacity of 2,500 people.

All the buildings have a guesthouse, one of which has the additional facilities of office space, meeting rooms, recording studios and a communal kitchen.

The temple is decorated with various statues and reliefs of dragons and mythical animals.