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Property developer KE Land plans to invest about Bt7 billion on four projects around Praditmanutham Road, which is located under the Ekamai-Ram Indra Expressway, in the next three years.

The company's managing director Kaveepan Eiamsakulrat said half the amount would come from the company's cash flow and the rest would be loaned from a bank.

The four projects are two retail centres, a detached-housing project and an office building.

One of the retail centres planned is part of the second phase of the high-end Crystal Centre. The second project, the Bt2-billion Crystal Design Centre, is undergoing construction and is expected to be complete by the middle of next year. The combined utilisation space of the retail projects ranges between 40,000 and 50,000 square metres.

Presales of the Bt1.5-billion luxury detached-housing project, Grand Crystal, have begun. The houses are expected to be ready for delivery next year.

The office-building project will offer utilisation space of up to 20,000 square metres. The Bt2-billion project will be developed next year.

KE Land owns about 200 rai of land on Praditmanutham Road. The two retail centres and detached-housing project will take up only 42 rais. The company is planning to take up three more projects spanning 100 rais in the area. The rest will remain undeveloped.

Kaveepan said the company is focusing on projects that generate rental income because land prices on Praditmanutham Road are too high at present to develop residential projects for sale.

"We are interested in developing condominium projects but are not planning any now because it is still too early to develop such projects on the land. But in the next three to five years, we will launch such projects on Praditmanutham Road," he said.

The company expects rental income will make up 70 per cent of its revenue by 2010. The rest will come from the sale of residential projects.

About 80 per cent of the company's Bt1-billion revenue last year came from sales of detached houses under the Crystal Park brand and the rest from rental fees generated by the Crystal Centre project.

The company has projected Bt1 billion in sales this year.

It expects sales of houses under the Crystal Park and the Grand Crystal projects to account for 60 per cent of the revenue.

Rent generated by the Crystal Centre will account for the rest.