Work is expected to start next month on the Royal Mail's new mail distribution centre at Mallusk on the northern outskirts of Belfast. The project is due to cost £18 million sterling and is one of the largest industrial property developments in the North in recent times. The choice of Mallusk underlines the value of its strategic location on a main M2 intersection outside Belfast. The new centre, which will overhaul the handling of the North's mail, is on a 25.6-acre site at the Hightown Industrial Estate, Hightown Road.