Thai Government Establishes Data Center Policy Committee

Thansettakij•Economy•18d ago

Reader Briefing

The Thai Cabinet approved the establishment of the Data Center Policy Committee to regulate resource management and investment standards for the growing data center industry.

•The Cabinet approved the Data Center Policy Committee on August 5, 2026.
•BOI reported 37 investment requests in 2025 valued at 736,558 million baht, and 7 more from January-March 2026 valued at 872,494 million baht.
•The committee will implement a Single Point regulatory mechanism to manage investors across three distinct groups.
•The Federation of Thai Industries proposed a 40% local content and labor requirement based on the Malaysian model.

Overview

•The Cabinet passed a resolution on August 5, 2026, approving the draft Regulation of the Office of the Prime Minister regarding the Data Center Policy Committee.
•The Board of Investment (BOI) recorded investment requests totaling 736,558 million baht in 2025 and 872,494 million baht between January and March 2026.
•The government established the committee because rapid industry growth led to resource management issues and infrastructure planning that did not align with actual needs.
•The Data Center Policy Committee is authorized to propose policies, standards, and guidelines for government agencies to use in granting permits and investment promotion certificates.
•Poor water reservation practices by investors can cause the government to overestimate water demand by up to three times, affecting infrastructure planning.
•The government intends to promote investment zoning near Mae Moh mine in Lampang province to utilize existing power plants and reservoirs.
•The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) proposed to the BOI and government that local material and labor ratios be determined before granting investment promotion.
•The industry currently shows low local content usage of approximately 15-20%, compared to an average of 60-80% in other industries.

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Key Entities

Organization

Data Center Policy Committee(คณะกรรมการนโยบายการประกอบกิจการด้าน Data Center)

A committee established to determine policies, standards, and oversight frameworks for data center investments.

Board of Investment(สำนักงานคณะกรรมการส่งเสริมการลงทุน)

An agency that provides data on investment requests and grants investment promotion certificates.

Cabinet(คณะรัฐมนตรี)

The government body that approved the establishment of the Data Center Policy Committee on August 5, 2026.

Ministry of Digital Economy and Society(กระทรวงดิจิทัลเพื่อเศรษฐกิจและสังคม)ℹ️

A ministry whose minister serves as a vice-chairman of the Data Center Policy Committee.

Ministry of Interior(กระทรวงมหาดไทย)ℹ️

A ministry whose minister serves as a vice-chairman of the Data Center Policy Committee.

Ministry of Energy(กระทรวงพลังงาน)ℹ️

A ministry whose minister serves as a vice-chairman of the Data Center Policy Committee.

NBTC(กสทช.)

An agency whose secretary-general serves as a member of the Data Center Policy Committee.

ERC(กกพ.)

An agency whose secretary-general serves as a member of the Data Center Policy Committee.

ONWR(สทนช.)

An agency whose secretary-general serves as a member of the Data Center Policy Committee.

EPPO(สนพ.)

An agency whose director serves as a member of the Data Center Policy Committee.

Private Power Producers Association(สมาคมผู้ผลิตไฟฟ้าเอกชน)

An association whose president, Noppadej Karnasut, advocated for local content requirements in data center investments.

Federation of Thai Industries(สภาอุตสาหกรรมแห่งประเทศไทย)ℹ️

An organization that discussed with the BOI and government to increase local content and labor in data centers.

Law

Regulation of the Office of the Prime Minister on the Data Center Policy Committee(ระเบียบสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี ว่าด้วย คณะกรรมการนโยบายการประกอบกิจการด้าน Data Center)

The regulation approved by the Cabinet to establish and define the duties of the Data Center Policy Committee.

Place

EECℹ️

An area where data centers are currently concentrated, specifically in Chonburi and Rayong provinces.

Chonburi(ชลบุรี)ℹ️

A province in the EEC area with a high concentration of data centers.

Rayong(ระยอง)ℹ️

A province in the EEC area with a high concentration of data centers.

Mae Moh Mine, Lampang Province(เหมืองแม่เมาะ จังหวัดลำปาง)

A proposed zoning area for data center investment due to the presence of power plants and reservoirs.

Samut Prakan(สมุทรปราการ)ℹ️