Thailand’s Cabinet approves seven-level regulatory policy for data centers

China News Service, Bangkok, November 10 (Wang Qi, Li Yingmin) The Thai Cabinet approved the data center regulatory policy on the 10th and decided to implement seven-level classified management according to the scale of power consumption. Projects of 20 MW and above will face more stringent site selection requirements. Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Enidi said that the government will establish a one-stop service center to coordinate the approval of data center projects.

According to Danucha, Secretary-General of Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council, data centers will be divided into seven levels according to the scale of power consumption: less than 0.5 MW, 0.5 to 5 MW, 5 to 10 MW, 10 to 20 MW, 20 to 50 MW, 50 to 200 MW and 200 MW and above. Among them, projects below 20 MW can be located in commercial areas, while projects of 20 MW and above must be located in industrial areas.

According to the new policy, the Thai government will also establish a one-stop service center for data centers, which will be promoted by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society of Thailand, coordinating project screening, approval and related information management, and summarizing project information through the data center information platform.

Enidi said that in the future, the approval of new projects will not only consider the investment amount, but also evaluate the project's ability to create jobs, train Thai workers, promote local supply chains, and use clean energy. In terms of environmental management, the policy requires data centers to comply with environmental operating specifications, covering matters such as noise, equipment heat dissipation, and water use.

The draft policy previously announced by Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council shows that relevant supervision will also cover project site selection, access to power and water supply facilities, and economic and social benefit assessment. This policy adjustment will further standardize the approval and operation of data center projects. (over)