1. Uncle Bill, as big as that thing is, it we should be able to see it from here when it's done!!(;
2. Mohd, 'Maitreya' is derived from the Sanskrit for Love/compassion/etc., and is related to the Pali 'Metta' that Southern Buddhists still use as a salutation today.
According to early Buddhism, the world goes through eras during which time the Buddhist message is delivered by a Buddha: Buddhism is established, grows, then wanes, at which point another Buddha appears.
"Our" Buddha, Shakyamuni, was the 4th in a series of 5 that will appear in our world. Maitreya will be the last.
The character of a future Buddhist savior appears to have been adapted from Messiah figures to the west, like Jesus. He's one of many savior/apocalyptic figures to emerge in Asia in the mid-late 1st millenium AD.
In 9thc. China, a monk named Budai was regarded as a pre-incarnation of Maitreya; he is the Fat Buddha that we see in Chinese stores and restaurants today. Lots of men in various times and places have also claimed to be Maitreya (including King Taksin of Siam) but some Tibetan texts say that Maitreya won't come for many thousands of years still.
For a book-length discussion of Maitreya in India and SE Asia, see "Buddha of the Future: A Maitreya Sculpture from North-East Thailand" published by the Kimbell Museum of Art, Ft. Worth, TX.
http://www.tricycle.com/newsevents/statue.html 
