Bangkok,September 4(AseanAll) — On September 4, 2026, Thai Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul presided over the 1/2026 meeting of the Data Center Policy Committee. Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek disclosed gist as follows:
The Prime Minister thanked all relevant sectors for working together in setting directions and policy frameworks for Thailand’s Data Center development to ensure clarity, systematic approach, and relevance with technological and economic changes. Data Center is a key infrastructure that accommodates data storage and processing for future industries. It is also an important foundation for the development of digital economy.
Thailand is currently receiving continued attention from both domestic and international investors, with its strategic location, infrastructure readiness, and the country’s role as ASEAN’ economic hub. However, these opportunities also come with challenges, be it, high consumption of electricity, water, land, and public utilities, as well as potential impacts on the environment, national security, and cybersecurity. It is, therefore, necessary to ensure proper regulations in accordance with relevant laws and standards, while safeguarding national interest.
With regard to public concerns over the establishment of data centers in urban and community areas, the Prime Minister noted that Data Centers are an integral part of Thailand’s transition to the digital era, while the development of relevant laws and regulatory measures remain underway. The Government, therefore, commits to expediting establishment of related regulatory criteria to enhance public confidence and minimize potential impacts.
Establishing relevant regulatory criteria and measures is not simply to address immediate problems or attract investments for Thailand to become a location for Data Centers, but to ensure that such investments create added value for the country. The Prime Minister stressed that the aims are to attract related industries to Thailand, promote technology transfer, develop Thai talent, build a digital ecosystem, and enhance the country’s long-term competitiveness. He added that many countries have undergone similar phases of development, which involves review of regulations and design of appropriate systems to ensure continuous and balanced expansion of digital economic infrastructure.
The Committee was also called on to deliberate key issues in a holistic manner, both in terms of legal definition and status of Data Centers, determination of Green Data Center standards, promotion of renewable energy use, data protection and cybersecurity, and support for Thailand’s AI and Cloud ecosystem. If the right direction is set, Thailand will be able to leverage the opportunities of digital economic growth in order to become a regional hub for digital innovation while promoting stable and sustainable development.
