BANGKOK, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday that Thailand must not settle for being merely a location for data centers but should extract added value from the investment, as his government moves to draft rules for a fast-growing sector.
Opening the first meeting of the National Data Center Business Policy Committee, Anutin emphasized that Thailand continues to draw interest from domestic and foreign investors thanks to its location, infrastructure readiness, and role as one of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic hubs.
However, that opportunity carries challenges, including heavy consumption of electricity, water, land, and utilities, along with environmental, security, and cybersecurity impacts, which require oversight consistent with the law, applicable standards, and the national interest, he said.
Anutin asked the committee to consider the legal definition and status of data centers, green data center standards, promotion of renewable energy, data protection and cybersecurity, and support for the country's artificial intelligence and cloud ecosystem.
The prime minister stressed that the investment must create added value for the kingdom, saying Thailand should attract related industries, promote technology transfer, develop Thai personnel, build a digital ecosystem, and raise long-term competitiveness.
Deputy Prime Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas, who chairs the committee, said Thailand is not closing the door to data center investment but will shift from approving projects agency by agency to setting strategy and screening criteria at the national level.
The committee agreed to integrate scattered licensing data into a single dataset, set minimum standards on an area-by-area basis to limit economic, social, and environmental impacts, and draw up assessment criteria to select projects that benefit the national economy and society, Ekniti told a press briefing. ■