Saudi-based Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development expects rent income to gradually rise from near-zero last year to SR1 billion ($266.7 million) by end-2015, its general manager said on Saturday.

'We expect a rent income of between SR300 million and SR350 million in 2011 alone. It will gradually rise to SR1 billion in annual revenue by end-2015,' Saud al-Gusaiyer told Reuters.

The bulk of the rent revenue will come from Dar Al-Arkan's Al-Qasr property project in Riyadh, where the firm plans to rent 1,318 housing units, 145,000 sq m (1.6 million sq ft) of commercial space and 20,000 sq m of office space, Gusaiyer said.

Al-Qasr, built to cater for a population of 20,000, has a total 3,050 housing units of which 1,732 units were put up for direct sale. Dar Al-Arkan started selling units at Al-Qasr last year.

'By end-June, 320 housing units remained to be sold. We hope to sell them all by end the end of this year,' Gusaiyer added.

Dar Al-Arkan is Saudi Arabia's largest real estate firm. – Reuters