Thailand's Cabinet Approves Tier 7 Regulatory Policy for Data Centers

Thailand's cabinet approved a data center regulatory policy on the 10th, deciding to implement a seven-tier classification management system based on electricity consumption scale, with projects of 20 megawatts and above facing stricter site selection requirements. Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti said the government will establish a one-stop service center to coordinate data center project approvals. According to Danucha, Secretary-General of Thailand's National Economic and Social Development Council, data centers will be divided into seven tiers based on electricity consumption scale: below 0.5 megawatts, 0.5 to 5 megawatts, 5 to 10 megawatts, 10 to 20 megawatts, 20 to 50 megawatts, 50 to 200 megawatts, and 200 megawatts and above. Among them, projects below 20 megawatts may be located in commercial areas, while projects of 20 megawatts and above must be located in industrial areas. Under the new policy, the Thai government will also establish a one-stop service center for data centers, to be advanced by Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, coordinating project screening, approval, and related information management, and consolidating project materials through a data center information platform.