Referring to those unwilling to move to the far-away Ban Ua Athorn housing facility, Chuanpit said the NHA had another two-rai plot in Din Daeng on which a high-rise comprising between 700 and 800 units could be built to temporarily house tenants of the Din Daeng flats, many of which are more than 30 years old.

Chuanpit said the NHA was concerned with the safety of residents, especially those in flats that are more than 30 years old. So it was taking measures to upgrade or rebuild the properties.

"We are keen on building a complex for the property because of its proximity to Suvarnabhumi's city check-in centre in Asoke.

"It could generate income for investors and reduce tenants' rental and living costs, but we will wait for NHA's decision," she said.

A source at the Cabinet meeting yesterday said caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had ordered Interior Minister Kongsak Wantana and Social Development and Human Security Minister Watana Muangsook to seek a solution to the Din Daeng housing estate problem.

The government had suggested demolishing the estate following a December 2002-April 2003 inspection by the Asian Institute of Technology, which had classified more than half of the estate's 87 blocks as "dangerously dilapidated", with Blocks 1 to 8 and 21-32 marked as "red zones".