Thailand halts data centre construction and approvals pending rules

Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas told a meeting of the national committee responsible for data centre policy on Friday (September 4, 2026) that the committee had received clear policy direction from the Prime Minister on managing the data centre industry.

Many investors were interested in investing in Thailand, but the country had yet to put an overall co-ordinated system in place, requiring investors to seek approvals separately from numerous agencies and ministries according to their respective responsibilities.

The policy is not intended to block or reject foreign investment.

Instead, Thailand will move from agency-by-agency approvals to a co-ordinated national strategy designed to ensure that data centres genuinely help drive the country’s digital infrastructure.

The strategic framework for approvals has three main elements:

• Data clarity: Information on the industry’s current status will be compiled from dispersed sources, including data on requests to use water and electricity and on co-ordination with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). The information will be brought together in a single view to show the industry’s actual status.
• Minimum standards: Minimum standards suited to each area will be established to protect the public from economic, social and environmental impacts. They will apply to existing operators, which will be given time to adjust, as well as to projects under construction and projects developed in the future, with public safety as the priority.
• Strategic upgrading: Related strategies will be promoted, including support for clean-energy use to move the country towards carbon neutrality, or net zero, as well as an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy enabling Thai people and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to gain meaningful access to and benefit from these technologies. Thailand has strong potential for digital growth, with applications widely used.

“For future investment projects, the committee will design a competitive proposal process, involving bidding or pitching, so investors can explain how they would create the greatest benefit for Thailand, such as generating income for Thai people or advancing the country’s net-zero target,” Ekniti said.

Construction and new permits placed on hold

Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), said the meeting had received data from 16 agencies on approvals and permit applications for data centre investment projects in Thailand.

The information showed that 35 data centre projects or companies were already in operation.

Of these, 11 came under oversight through the investment-promotion application process of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI).

Around 49 data centre projects were under construction, while more than 117 were awaiting permission or consideration by various agencies.

The latter two categories were reported as totalling 166 projects.

However, the information lacked sufficient detail for regulation and monitoring.

The meeting therefore resolved to temporarily pause construction on all data centre projects already under way and the granting of permission for all projects with applications pending, until there is clarity on the minimum environmental and social standards they must meet.

Criteria covering economic returns will also be established to ensure that the country receives the greatest possible benefit.

The agencies assigned to prepare these criteria must complete them within one month.

Data centres to receive dedicated business category

The meeting also instructed the Department of Business Development at the Ministry of Commerce to create a specific business category for data centres, allowing operators to register clearly under that classification.

This is intended to address the existing practice of operators often applying under other categories, such as warehousing, which obscures the overall picture of the industry.

On whether data centres should be classified as industrial operations, preliminary discussions indicated that further details would need to be clarified.

An earlier proposal would have set a threshold of more than 2 megawatts (MW) of electricity demand, but the meeting considered 2MW very small and said other factors might have to be examined before a size threshold is set for classifying a data centre as an industrial operation.

Rules to cover both operating models

The meeting also discussed applying oversight to both operating models: commercial data centres or co-location facilities serving external customers, and private data centres operated within organisations.

Work will be accelerated to process market data, establish a comparative baseline and classify the industry clearly in the next phase.

Four panels to develop regulatory criteria

NESDC also outlined key measures to support the policy, including setting water and electricity usage rates that reflect actual and indirect costs.

A specialist working group will be appointed to take responsibility for this area.

The measures also include creating a one-stop approval mechanism to address delays caused by investors having to apply separately to multiple agencies.

The meeting also established four subcommittees to define detailed minimum requirements for new data centre construction and a system of post-opening audits.

They are:

• Economic: The subcommittee has the NESDC secretary-general and the BOI secretary-general as its chairs and is responsible for assessing economic value and benefits to the national economy.
• Infrastructure: The subcommittee has the secretary-general of the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) and the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Energy as its chairs. It is responsible for water and electricity systems, digital networks and clean-energy use.
• Sites and buildings: The subcommittee has the permanent secretaries of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Energy as its chairs. It is responsible for regulating site selection and overseeing the safety of buildings and electrical substations.
• Environment: The subcommittee is chaired by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. It will focus on establishing best-practice guidelines for operators to follow sustainably, rather than emphasising punitive measures.

“This joint effort to establish a proactive policy framework and comprehensive oversight and inspection mechanisms after operations begin will help build investor confidence alongside continued sustainable economic and technological growth in Thailand,” Danucha said.