Thailand has suspended the construction of 49 data centers due to growing concerns over power consumption and local community impacts.. – Getty Images. First reported by Bloomberg, the pause was announced by Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council..
According to reports, the pause in construction is expected to allow officials to develop a series of new industry regulations in order to create a more sustainable environment for data center development. Exact details on the new regulations are slated to be revealed within the month..
In addition to the suspension of the 49 projects, Thai officials also froze approvals for 117 planned facilities. The exact facilities that have had their development paused have not been disclosed.. The new standards will mean that new data center projects will have to meet several requirements.
These include town planning, separation from neighboring buildings, safety, electrical systems, backup fuel storage, and environmental protection. Existing operators will receive a transition period to bring their premises and systems into compliance.. Despite the pause, Thai officials were clear in stating that the country is not closed for business for data center development.
Instead, stressing the need for clear and consistent standards, alongside a uniform oversight body for both operational and developing data centers.. The Southeast Asian country has seen a huge influx of data center investment over recent years, with several developers seeking to cash in on the AI boom.
In the first half of 2026 alone, Thailand’s Board of Investment approved 88 artificial intelligence and data center projects, worth approximately 886 billion baht (about $27 billion).. Thailand is already home to several of the largest hyperscalers. Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched a cloud region there in January 2025.
Google followed this, launching its own cloud region in Bangkok in January.. Microsoft is currently developing a region in the country, and in October 2025 revealed it would use True IDC for one of its availability zones. Alibaba Cloud also has two data centers in the country..
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