On the outskirts of Bangkok, white factories are rising from the ground, and the buzzing of servers hides the ambition of Southeast Asia's digital economy. When global capital rushes to this hot land, the blank regulatory framework makes investors hesitate in front of the blueprint - rules are catching up with the speed of capital.

Promote the formulation of regulatory framework

Thailand is accelerating the establishment of a data center regulatory system, and investors are waiting for the implementation of land, supporting facilities, and community safety standards. The Data Center Policy Committee will hold a meeting to sort out the remaining issues, and the regulatory draft is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2027. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, in collaboration with the Big Data Research Institute, has established a TH-DC dashboard to collect project and supporting information. Four specialized teams will discuss and unify industry standards.

Clear classification and safety requirements

The deputy minister of the department stated that the primary difficulty is to determine the industry classification of data centers in planning regulations, and the classification results directly constrain site selection, water, electricity, communication, and environmental conditions. The draft sets a safety isolation distance based on the reserve fuel storage capacity. The higher the storage capacity, the farther the distance between residential areas, schools, and other places is required. This clause is still under review. Keywords: data center, digital hub, Thailand

The new regulations do not apply retroactively to existing projects

Thailand's over 30 billion US dollar projects are awaiting policy implementation, covering three categories: already in operation, under construction, and awaiting construction. The new regulations will not take effect for existing projects, but existing projects still need to comply with existing regulations. The policy is still uncertain and there is a risk of capital outflow. The local ICT market is steadily expanding, with growth driven by multiple factors such as 5G, computing infrastructure, and industrial digitization.Editor/Gong Ziwei