Property developer Nakheel wants recurring income to increase to more than 50% of all revenue by 2021 as it opens more shopping malls in Dubai, the chairman told Reuters.

Nakheel, the developer of the palm-shaped islands in the emirate, expects leasable retail space to more than triple to 17 mn square feet within the next three to five years from 4.5 mn square feet. “We see good opportunities in retail,” Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah says.

State-owned Nakheel expanded two malls on the fringes of Dubai last year, Dragon Mart and Ibn Battuta, and has other sites under development. Recurring income from non-development segments such as retail and hospitality currently account for 30% of revenue. Recurring income has increased 213% to AED 2.5 bn (USD 680.68 mn) since 2010.