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Kirimaya, owner of the luxury Kirimaya Golf Resort & Spa in Khao Yai, plans to launch a residential project worth Bt800 million next year after recording sales of between 60 and 80 per cent at its two residential projects this year.

Owner and chairman Kitti Thanakitamuay yesterday said the company would launch the project when the Muthi Maya poolvilla resort is completely sold out and the Kirimaya Residence project sells out early in the year.

All four properties are in Khao Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima. Once the new project is under way, the com¬pany will have developed 700 out of the 1,200 rai it owns in the province.

Kirimaya has recorded sales totalling 80 per cent at the Bt700million Muthi Maya, with 67 pool villas, and 60 per cent of the Bt850million Kirimaya Residence. For these projects, 70 per cent of the customers are domestic buyers, with foreign buyers signing long leases.

The two projects are financed by a combined Bt365 million of loans from Thanachart Bank.

Presales began this year, starting at Bt10 million for Muthi Maya and Bt12 million per rai for Kirimaya Residence plots.

Kitti said the Muthi Maya had received the more positive feed¬back from buyers, especially since the company offers a guaranteed return on investment of between 3 and 4 per cent a year - providing owners assign Kirimaya staff to take care of their residence for rental purposes.

For the Kirimaya Residence, the company is selling plots from Bt12 million per rai. Buyers can build their own residences on the land, but the company has to approve the design that has to match with the overall project.

He added that land prices in Khao Yai had increased from an average of Bt500,000 per rai four years ago to Bt2 million now. However, this is still lower than other tourist destinations, which has led the company to believe that prices have potential to grow further - even at the higher end of the market.

"We believe that an investment in Khao Yai will generate a high return," he said.

Kitti said the company expects total revenue of Bt860 million this year from sales of the two projects, plus Bt60 million from the hotel business.

"Since the global slowdown and the domestic political turmoil worsened, our highseason hotel customers, from November till December, have dropped from an average occupancy rate of 75 per cent to 55 per cent this year. As a result, our revenue from the hotel business will be lower than last year's Bt70 million," he said.

The luxury Kirimaya Golf Resort & Spa has rates from Bt7,500 per night for deluxe rooms and Bt30,000 for tenttype accommodation.