Last updated: 22 October 2026 · By Maximillien Quân Phạm, Wisematch Vietnam
VEC Hanoi, the Vietnam Exhibition Center in Dong Anh, opened on 19 August 2025 and is now Hanoi’s main trade-fair venue. Its 2027 trade calendar starts with Vietnam Expo and three co-located shows on 13–15 May, then Food & Hospitality Hanoi (21–23 September) and two November blocks. Noi Bai airport is about 15 minutes away.
Wisematch is an official sales agent of VINEXAD, the organiser of Vietnam Expo, the Vietnam Hardware & Hand Tools Expo, the Vietnam Elevator Expo and ROBOTEX at VEC, and co-organiser of IBTE, IEAE and IGHE. International companies can book booths, national pavilion space and visitor programmes for these shows directly through Wisematch — one English-speaking contact on WhatsApp from enquiry to show day.
What Wisematch does for you
- Tells you whether a VEC show in Hanoi or its sister edition at SECC in Ho Chi Minh City fits your buyers better.
- Books your booth, a place in your country’s pavilion or a visitor programme, and confirms your hall and entrance at VEC.
- Supports visa invitation letters where needed and coordinates sample shipping to the venue.
- Prepares a list of northern Vietnamese buyers to meet, with an interpreter and on-site support.
- Helps you follow up in Vietnamese after the show.
Until 2025, a trade fair in Hanoi usually meant the I.C.E exhibition centre near the old quarter or a hotel ballroom. That changed when the Vietnam Exhibition Center opened north of the Red River. In 2026, Vietnam Expo, the national trade fair, moved there, and VINEXAD’s 2027 calendar lists most of its Hanoi editions at VEC. This guide gives you the venue facts and the 2027 trade calendar, and then answers the question that matters more: which show at VEC is worth your time, and who you will meet there.
What is VEC? The Vietnam Exhibition Center at a glance
You will see three names for the same place: Vietnam Exhibition Center, Vietnam Exposition Center and, in Vietnamese, Trung tâm Triển lãm Việt Nam. The operator uses “Vietnam Exposition Center” on its website and “VEC” everywhere; organisers mostly write “Vietnam Exhibition Center (VEC), Dong Anh”.
| Opened | 19 August 2025, after about ten months of construction (operator; VOV) |
|---|---|
| Site | 90 ha (900,000 m²) |
| Main exhibition building | Kim Quy Exhibition Hall: ten halls (Central Hall 10,490 m², Main Hall 6,503 m², Halls 1–8 each about 9,385–9,602 m²), about 93,000 m² in total by the operator’s hall-by-hall figures |
| Height and floor load | More than 56 m high; floors rated up to five tonnes per m² (Tuoi Tre News) |
| Outdoor space | Four outdoor plazas, more than 200,000 m² in total (Tuoi Tre News) |
| Investment | Over VND 7 trillion (about US$266.5 million), as reported by Tuoi Tre News in 2025 |
| Operator | Vietnam Exhibition Fair Center JSC (VEFAC), a Vingroup company; VEC says it is a UFI member |
| Other venues on site | Vietnam Exposition A, outdoor areas, Blue Waves Theatre, PVF Stadium and VinFast–Trong Dong Stadium (operator) |
| Official site | vec.global/en/events |
On size: published figures for the Kim Quy hall range from about 93,000 m² (operator, hall by hall) to 105,000 m² and more (press). We use the operator’s hall-by-hall total. The operator describes VEC as “among the largest exhibition centers in Southeast Asia” by gross indoor space, citing the UFI World Map of Exhibition Venues; we do not repeat stronger ranking claims we cannot check.
Where is VEC? Address and location in Dong Anh
The operator gives the address as Vietnam Exposition Center, Tu Lien Bridge Road, Dong Anh, Hanoi. Dong Anh lies north of the Red River, between the city centre and Noi Bai International Airport. Since the 2025 administrative reform, some documents write “Dong Anh commune”; drivers and map apps recognise “VEC” or “Trung tâm Triển lãm Việt Nam, Đông Anh”. The operator says three bridges converge near the site: Dong Tru, Nhat Tan and Tu Lien. If someone asks “VEC ở đâu?” (where is VEC?), the short answer is: north of the river, on the airport side of the city.
VEC Hanoi events 2027: the trade show calendar
The table lists every 2027 trade exhibition at VEC that we could tie to an official source. VINEXAD dates come from its 2027 calendar, cross-checked with each show’s website. VEC’s own events page had not yet listed 2027 trade shows when we checked.
| Dates 2027 | Exhibition | Sector | Organiser | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13–15 May (Thu–Sat) | Vietnam Expo 2027, the 36th Vietnam International Trade Fair | Multi-sector national fair; country pavilions | VINEXAD, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade | Confirmed on vietnamexpo.com.vn |
| 13–15 May | Vietnam Hardware & Hand Tools Expo | Tools, hardware | VINEXAD | Confirmed on hn.hardwaretools.com.vn |
| 13–15 May | Vietnam Elevator Expo | Elevators, escalators, components | VINEXAD with the Vietnam Elevator Association | Confirmed on elevatorexpo.vn (Hall H2) |
| 13–15 May | ROBOTEX | Robotics, smart factory | VINEXAD | VINEXAD 2027 calendar |
| 21–23 Sep (Tue–Thu) | Food & Hospitality Hanoi 2027 (4th) | F&B, HoReCa, hospitality equipment | Organiser of Food & Hospitality Vietnam | Confirmed on foodnhospitalityhanoi.com |
| 18–21 Nov (Thu–Sun) | IBTE, Vietnam IEAE and IGHE | Baby products and toys; electronics and smart appliances; housewares and gifts | Chaoyu Expo, co-organised by VINEXAD | VINEXAD 2027 calendar |
Sources: VINEXAD 2027 calendar; official show websites (see Sources), checked 21–22 October 2026. Aggregators also list MTA Hanoi and VIIF for 2027 with dates “TBD”; we leave them out until the organisers publish dates. No 2027 Spring Fair or Autumn Fair had been announced when we checked.
Details of the May block are in our Vietnam Expo 2027 Hanoi guide and the pages for the Hardware & Hand Tools Expo, the Elevator Expo and ROBOTEX. For November, see IBTE; Vietfood & Beverage – ProPack Hanoi (3–6 November) runs at I.C.E Hanoi in the city centre. The national list is in Trade Shows in Vietnam 2027.
How big are the trade shows at VEC?
VEC is a very large building, but most trade shows in it are mid-sized. That is worth knowing before you book: your show will usually occupy one to three of the ten halls, with other events elsewhere on the site. These are the published figures.
| Show | Exhibitors | Booths | Countries | Visitors | Figure type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam Expo 2026 (35th), VEC | 420+, half foreign | 500+ | 20 | Not stated in report | 2026 edition (Vietnam News) |
| Vietnam Expo 2027 (36th), target | 420+ | 500 | 20 | — | Organiser’s 2027 projection |
| Hardware & Hand Tools Hanoi | 300 | 400 | 15 | 12,000 | 2026 show report |
| Vietnam Elevator Expo | — | 120 | — | — | Show site |
| IBTE | 500 | 1,000 | — | 40,000 | Site counters, not year-labelled |
| Vietnam IEAE | 300 | 500 | — | 15,000 | Site counters |
| IGHE | 250 | 500 | — | 40,000 | Site counters |
| Vietfood & Beverage – ProPack Hanoi (I.C.E Hanoi) | 350 | 400 | — | 17,000 | Site counters (6,500 m²) |
| Spring Fair 2026 (national, MOIT) | About 3,000 exhibitors on more than 100,000 m² expected (ministry invitation) | State fair, for comparison | |||
Sources: Vietnam News, 8 April 2026; vietnamexpo.com.vn; the official sites of each show; Vietnam Embassy in Poland (Spring Fair invitation). Organisers count visitors differently, so compare with care.
Why exhibit at VEC in Hanoi: five concrete reasons
1. Hanoi is Vietnam’s second-largest regional economy, and it is still growing fast
Hanoi’s GRDP grew 8.16% in 2025 to about US$69 billion, the second largest in the country. Retail sales of goods and consumer services reached VND 962.9 trillion (US$40.1 billion), up 12.7%, and the city attracted US$4.4 billion of FDI, about 1.5 times the previous year (Hanoi Statistics Office, via The Hanoi Times). The city targets growth of more than 11% in 2026. For a consumer-goods or food brand, that is a large, fast-growing urban market in its own right, distinct from the south, with its own distributors and retail chains.
2. VEC lets four shows sit side by side, and that is the point of May
On 13–15 May 2027 the national fair, hardware, elevators and robotics all run at VEC. A construction or factory buyer can cover all four in one visit, and a foreign exhibitor at Vietnam Expo gets the traffic of the specialist shows next door. Before VEC opened, Hanoi had no venue where four shows of this size could share dates under one roof. The 2026 Vietnam Expo, the first at VEC, drew more than 420 companies from 20 countries and territories, half of them foreign (Vietnam News).
3. The north is where Vietnam’s electronics and supporting-industry supply chain sits
Factories in Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen and Hai Phong are a short drive from Dong Anh, and VEC is closer to them than any venue in central Hanoi. Nationally, Vietnam’s imports in the first nine months of 2026 reached US$453.72 billion, 94.1% of it production materials and 58.3% machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts (National Statistics Office, via VNA). If you sell tools, components, automation or factory services, the plant managers who buy them in the north can reach VEC without crossing the city.
4. The airport is next door, so a short trip works
Noi Bai International Airport is about 15 minutes from VEC (Tuoi Tre News, 2024). A buyer can fly in, walk the show and fly out, and an exhibitor’s senior staff can join for one day rather than four. For companies based in Japan, Korea, China or elsewhere in ASEAN, that makes a Hanoi show cheaper in time than a show in a venue far from the airport.
5. It is new, which cuts both ways
The halls are modern, high and rated for heavy exhibits. But organisers and contractors are still learning the site, and few exhibitors have done more than one show there. Ask more questions than usual: which hall and entrance, where trucks unload and when, how much power the stand gets, whether the hall is air-conditioned during build-up, and where visitors park. Wisematch checks these points with VINEXAD before your floor position is fixed.
VEC compared with I.C.E Hanoi and SECC
| VEC, Dong Anh | I.C.E Hanoi, 91 Tran Hung Dao | SECC, Ho Chi Minh City | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opened | August 2025 | March 2007 | Hall B added in April 2022 |
| Hall space published | Ten halls, about 93,000 m² | Not published on the official site | Two column-free halls; total not published |
| Main 2027 trade dates | 13–15 May; 21–23 Sep; November blocks | Vietfood & Beverage – ProPack Hanoi, 3–6 Nov | March–April sourcing fairs; nine VINEXAD shows in August; 2–4 Dec |
| Typical buyer | Northern distributors, factory buyers, government-linked buyers | City-based buyers and walk-in trade visitors | Southern factory managers, importers, food and hospital buyers |
| Cost profile | Few hotels at the venue yet; daily drive from the centre | Central hotels within reach | Limited rooms in Phu My Hung in peak weeks |
VEC gives space and airport access; a central venue gives convenience for city-based visitors. For most exhibitors the deciding factor is the show, not the building: pick the event whose visitors match your buyer, then plan the trip around the venue. Our SECC events guide covers the southern venue.
Which 2027 VEC event fits you? Who should exhibit and who should visit
| You are… | VEC event to look at first | Exhibit or visit? | Also consider |
|---|---|---|---|
| A foreign company entering Vietnam, ideally under a national pavilion | Vietnam Expo, 13–15 May | Exhibit | Vietnam Expo in HCMC, 2–4 Dec (SECC) |
| A tool, fastener or hardware maker | Hardware & Hand Tools Hanoi, 13–15 May | Exhibit | The HCMC edition in December |
| An elevator or escalator component supplier | Vietnam Elevator Expo, 13–15 May | Exhibit | The HCMC edition in December |
| A robotics or automation supplier | ROBOTEX, 13–15 May | Exhibit | ROBOTEX at SECC, August |
| A food, drink or hospitality-equipment supplier for the north | Food & Hospitality Hanoi, 21–23 Sep | Exhibit | Vietfood Hanoi, 3–6 Nov at I.C.E Hanoi |
| A toy, baby-product, electronics or housewares brand | IBTE, IEAE and IGHE, 18–21 Nov | Exhibit | Their HCMC editions at SECC |
| A foreign buyer sourcing from Vietnam | Vietnam Expo’s export zone, 13–15 May | Visit | Sourcing fairs in Ho Chi Minh City; see our sourcing guide |
| A company whose buyers are all in the south | None at VEC | Choose the SECC edition | — |
The point of the table is to match buyer to show. Clear ICP, the right buyers, a faster close: if you can name the job titles you want to meet, we can tell you which VEC week puts them in front of you.
Want to know if a VEC show fits your product? Ask Wisematch on WhatsApp — we will tell you honestly, including when a different show suits you better.
What VEC has hosted so far
VEC has run for just over a year. Its record tells you what kind of events it handles.
- National Achievements Exhibition, September 2025. The operator reports more than 10 million visits in 19 days. The city ran 20 bus routes to the venue, two regular (43 and E10) and 18 added, with about 900 trips a day (Dai Bieu Nhan Dan, 12 August 2025).
- Autumn Fair 2025. The first national Autumn Fair was held at VEC, according to the operator.
- First Spring Fair, 2–13 February 2026. A multi-sector national fair run by the Ministry of Industry and Trade; foreign companies were offered one free 9 m² standard booth (MOIT, 30 January 2026).
- Vietnam Expo 2026, 8–11 April 2026. The 35th Vietnam International Trade Fair and the first at VEC, with more than 500 booths and over 420 companies from 20 countries and territories (Vietnam News).
- IBTE Hanoi 2026, 18–21 June 2026, in Halls 2 and 3 (ibte.com.vn).
- Autumn 2026: IEAE (5–7 November); VRME, Conmac Vietnam and Transtech Expo in Hall 3 (11–13 November); Vietbuild 2026 and Hanoi Living Design Fair (11–14 November), according to VEC’s events page.
The same page lists concerts and brand events in the same weeks. Large public events and trade shows share roads and car parks, so check the full venue calendar for your dates, not just your show.
How to get to VEC from Noi Bai and central Hanoi
| From | Route | What the sources say | Planning note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noi Bai International Airport | Taxi or car; during the 2025 national exhibition, buses 90TC and E10 also ran from the airport | About 15 minutes (Tuoi Tre News, 2024) | Day trips by air work |
| Tay Ho, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh | Nhat Tan Bridge, Vo Nguyen Giap Boulevard | Recommended route (VEC guide) | The operator’s “3–5 minutes to West Lake” is a marketing line; allow 30–45 minutes at peak |
| Hoan Kiem, Hai Ba Trung, Long Bien | Chuong Duong and Dong Tru bridges | Recommended route (VEC guide) | River crossings are the morning bottleneck |
| Public bus | Route 43 and electric bus E10 | Listed by VEC | Check the VinBus app for current stops |
| Ride-hailing | Green SM electric taxis and bikes | Listed by VEC | Agree a pick-up point before the show ends; the site is 90 ha |
The 30–45 minute peak estimate from the centre is Wisematch’s planning assumption, not an official figure.
Where to stay near VEC and how to plan the day
The operator says a JW Marriott hotel next to VEC is expected to be completed in 2027, and press coverage of the opening mentioned a planned five-star hotel system of over 5,000 rooms. Neither is confirmed as open for May 2027, so do not plan around them. Most foreign visitors stay in central Hanoi (Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Tay Ho) and drive out each day; Tay Ho, near the Nhat Tan Bridge route, is the shorter run. A workable day:
- 08:15 leave central Hanoi to arrive for the 09:00 opening, before the first-morning registration queue.
- 09:00–12:00 pre-booked meetings, starting with the hall furthest from your entrance.
- 12:00–13:00 lunch on site; ask the organiser what food outlets will be open.
- 13:00–16:00 open walking time and the co-located shows.
- 16:00 leave before the closing rush, or after 17:30 if the roads are busy.
How to exhibit at a VEC trade show, step by step
The timeline counts back from the show date. For VINEXAD shows, Wisematch handles the booking directly.
- Eight to ten months out: choose show, city and format. Use the fit table. Decide between a raw-space booth, a shell-scheme booth or a place in your national pavilion. We send the floor plan, available positions and last edition’s visitor profile.
- Six to eight months out: sign and fix the hall. Tell us about heavy, running or powered exhibits before the position is confirmed. The Kim Quy floors are rated up to five tonnes per m², but confirm it for your exact hall.
- Four to six months out: product rules. Food, cosmetics, medical devices and some electrical goods may need registration or import paperwork before samples can enter. We tell you what applies.
- Three to four months out: visas, hotels, freight. Most visitors can use the e-visa at evisa.gov.vn; 12 countries, including Germany, France, the UK, Japan and South Korea, have a 45-day exemption under Resolution 44/NQ-CP. Where a sponsored visa is needed, we support the invitation letter. Hai Phong is the usual sea gateway for the north; Noi Bai is close for air freight. See our business visa guide.
- Six to eight weeks out: meetings. Send us your ideal buyer profile; we build a list of northern distributors, importers or factory buyers and invite them to named meetings.
- Show days: Wisematch is on site for interpretation, introductions and stand issues.
- Within a week after: written offers in Vietnamese to every qualified contact, with our help on follow-up calls.
What a booth at VEC will not do for you
A new venue attracts curious visitors, but curiosity is not demand. A booth at VEC will not bring buyers who were not already looking for your product. It will not register your product, find you a distributor or follow up after the show. No organiser or agent can promise a number of buyers or orders at a VEC exhibition, and we do not. Three days at VEC pay off when you arrive with booked meetings and follow up in Vietnamese within a week.
Planning a longer presence in Vietnam?
Many exhibitors who come to Hanoi for a fair later need a local entity. Our guides cover a representative office in Vietnam, a trading company and the IRC and ERC licences.
Frequently asked questions about VEC Hanoi
Where is VEC Hanoi?
VEC, the Vietnam Exhibition Center, is on Tu Lien Bridge Road in Dong Anh, north of the Red River in Hanoi, on the airport side of the city. Noi Bai International Airport is about 15 minutes away. From the centre, drivers use the Nhat Tan Bridge or the Chuong Duong and Dong Tru bridges; allow 30–45 minutes at peak.
What trade shows are at VEC in 2027?
2027 trade shows at VEC include Vietnam Expo 2027 with the Hardware & Hand Tools, Elevator and ROBOTEX expos (13–15 May), Food & Hospitality Hanoi (21–23 September) and IBTE, IEAE and IGHE (18–21 November). Vietfood & Beverage – ProPack Hanoi (3–6 November) is held at I.C.E Hanoi, 91 Tran Hung Dao.
How do I book a booth at Vietnam Expo or another VEC show?
For VINEXAD shows at VEC, including Vietnam Expo, the Hardware & Hand Tools Expo, the Elevator Expo, ROBOTEX and the IBTE, IEAE and IGHE block it co-organises, book through Wisematch, an official sales agent of VINEXAD. Send your product, target buyers and preferred booth size on WhatsApp; we reply the same working day with options and the floor plan.
Is VEC the same as the Vietnam Exposition Center?
Yes. Vietnam Exhibition Center, Vietnam Exposition Center and Trung tâm Triển lãm Việt Nam are names for the same venue in Dong Anh. It is operated by Vietnam Exhibition Fair Center JSC (VEFAC), a Vingroup company, and opened on 19 August 2025 after about ten months of construction.
How do I get to VEC by public transport?
VEC lists city bus 43 and electric bus E10, plus Green SM electric taxis and bikes. During the 2025 national exhibition, Hanoi ran 20 bus routes to the venue, including two from Noi Bai airport. Check the VinBus app for current routes and stops before you travel, and agree a pick-up point for the return.
How big is VEC?
The site covers 90 ha. Its Kim Quy exhibition hall has ten halls totalling about 93,000 m² by the operator’s hall-by-hall figures, with floors rated up to five tonnes per m². Press reports give larger totals and describe more than 200,000 m² of outdoor plazas. Most trade shows use one to three halls.
Book your booth or visit with Wisematch
Wisematch is an official sales agent of VINEXAD. Tell us your product, target buyers and preferred booth size — we reply the same working day in English with booth options, the floor plan and the next steps for VEC Hanoi events 2027.
Chat on WhatsApp: +84 354 624 102 Email info@wisematch.vn
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More: Consumer goods shows · Industrial and manufacturing shows · Food trade shows in Asia 2027
Sources
- VEC, About; VEC, Kim Quy Exhibition; VEC, Venue & infrastructure; VEC, Events; VEC, Visitor guide, accessed 21 Oct 2026
- VOV, VEC inaugurated, 20 Aug 2025
- Tuoi Tre News, VEC to open, 18 Aug 2025; Tuoi Tre News, construction begins, 1 Sep 2024
- The Hanoi Times (Hanoi Statistics Office), Hanoi GRDP 2025
- VietnamPlus (VNA, National Statistics Office), nine-month 2026 trade, 3 Oct 2026
- Dai Bieu Nhan Dan, 20 bus routes, 12 Aug 2025
- Ministry of Industry and Trade, First Spring Fair 2026, 30 Jan 2026; Vietnam Embassy in Poland, Spring Fair invitation
- Vietnam News, Vietnam Expo 2026, 8 Apr 2026; VNA Photos
- Vietnam Expo; Hardware & Hand Tools Expo Hanoi; Vietnam Elevator Expo; ROBOTEX; Vietfood & Beverage – ProPack Hanoi; Food & Hospitality Hanoi
- IBTE; IEAE; IGHE; VINEXAD calendar
- I.C.E Hanoi, About us; SECC, Exhibition Level
- Vietnam Embassy in Denmark, Resolution 44/NQ-CP
- Search volumes: Google Ads Keyword Planner, Wisematch Vietnam account, measured 21 Oct 2026, Oct 2025 – Sep 2026, ranges only.
