More than half the city plans in Thailand have expired, says the Agency for Real Estate Affairs.
Of the 160 city plans announced, 91 have already expired and have not been replaced, according to data compiled by the property consultancy.
Under the City Planning Act, an expired plan can be extended twice, for one year each time.
Of the total, 71 plans have been expired for more than two years. Ten have been expired for almost two years and another 10 have been expired for one year.
Sopon Pornchokchai, the company's president, said that the lack of city plans will lead to inefficient development.
He said currently very little of Thailand is controlled by the city plans.
If the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning just lets plans expire without preparing replacements, questions regarding the role and future of the department will arise.
The department has a policy of allowing local administrations to prepare their own city plans, but some local authorities say they lack the budget and personnel to develop a plan. Only Bangkok and Pattaya have the resources to engage in city planning.
"City planning will be a growing problem in the future," Dr Sopon noted.
