The Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) plans to ask the Interior Ministry to extend construction permits for buildings which were abandoned or left uncompleted in the capital after the 1997 economic crisis.
EIT president Suchatvee Suwansawat said the institute will ask the ministry to issue a new ministerial regulation to give deserted properties a new lease on life.
The old ministerial regulation expired on Nov 30.
The new regulation would allow developers to try and increase the business value of the derelict buildings by restoring them, he said.
The move follows the Supreme Administrative Court's ruling on Dec 2 to tear down the luxury 24-floor Aetas Hotel on Soi Ruamrudee.
The hotel was built despite the fact that Soi Ruamrudee is less than 10 metres wide, breaching the 1979 Building Control Act which bans buildings higher than 23m, or eight storeys, on roads less than 10m wide.
The court ordered the city administration and the Pathumwan district office to demolish the Aetas Hotel within 60 days.
The city administration had ordered authorities to set up a panel to work on a demolition plan in response to the court's ruling.
City Hall must shut down the Aetas Hotel if the demolition work is be carried out in line with the court order, associate professor Siriwat Chaichana, the EIT secretary-general said.
It would take about two to three years to completely demolish the hotel, according to Mr Siriwat.
The work must be conducted by specialists and engineers who are also knowledgeable about related laws, he added.
The demolition work must also be carried out in compliance with international safety standards, he said.
New technology has been introduced to demolish high-rise buildings without the need to use heavy machinery to dismantle them, he said.
Prof Suchatvee said there are at least 254 deserted buildings in the city, mostly high-rise and large buildings, that were deserted or left unfinished in the wake of the 1997 economic crisis.
He said many of these buildings could be completed but their construction permits have expired.
Associate professor Anek Siripanichgorn, the head of the EIT's civil engineering department, said that unfinished buildings could pose risks to the safety of the public.
The abandoned buildings are considered dangerous and also serve as locations for illegal drug-taking and criminal activities, he said.
A Swedish man was found dead on one of the top floors of Unique Tower on Sathon Road earlier this month.
The building has been left unfinished and unoccupied for years.
The fire-hit New World Department Store is another example.
The store, which is located in Bang Lamphu, has been left roofless, badly worn and abandoned.
It has recently been used as a popular fish pond.