Thai officials asked developers behind 49 data center projects to consider a voluntary pause, AFP reported, as policymakers respond to concerns over power, water and public utilities.
Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), told AFP that officials had asked developers to cooperate but the government had no power to order a halt. AFP, citing Danucha, also reported that 35 data centers were operating, 11 projects had been approved and 117 were under review.
At a Sept. 4 meeting, the committee said it wanted shared standards for the sector. The committee flagged pressure on utilities, water and land, alongside possible environmental and security impacts. The government says it wants investment to attract related industries, promote technology transfer, develop Thai talent and build a digital ecosystem.
The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) said three approved data center and data-hosting projects total 913 billion baht and valued them at about $27 billion. TikTok System (Thailand) Co., Ltd. accounts for 842 billion baht; Skyline Data Center and Cloud Services Co., Ltd. for 46 billion baht; and Bridge Data Centres IIO (Thailand) Co., Ltd. for 24.6 billion baht. The BOI lists planned IT loads of 200 megawatts for Skyline’s Chachoengsao project and 134 megawatts for Bridge Data Centres’ Chonburi project.
Cushman & Wakefield’s first-half 2026 data put Thailand’s construction pipeline at 859 megawatts and Malaysia’s at 1,039 megawatts. With other Southeast Asian projects, the regional total represented about half of Asia-Pacific capacity being built.
After Singapore’s 2019–2022 moratorium, its Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry (METI) said it has managed new data center capacity against energy, water and decarbonization goals. Under its latest capacity exercise, applicants had to source at least 50% of capacity from green energy.
The Nation reported Oct. 25 that the Data Centre Board was expected to take up a wastewater proposal on Nov. 27. The draft would require monthly reuse of at least 80% of cooling-tower wastewater and has not been approved.
