BANGKOK, Sept 4 — Thailand said Friday it would introduce clearer rules on AI data centres to regulate the fast-growing sector, and urged almost 50 sites currently under construction to hold the projects until then.

As demand for artificial intelligence heats up, tech giants are racing to invest billions of dollars in South-east Asia, attracted by a growing plugged-in user base.

But the rapid expansion has outpaced regulation and concerns are growing across the world about the centres’ impact on the environment, including their use of electricity and water, and local communities.

“Thailand is attracting interest from both local and foreign investors... We need to ensure alignment with laws, standards and the national interest,” said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

Regulations would be revised to make them “airtight” and prioritise public safety, he said at the first meeting of a new government committee on data centres.

Around 35 data centres are currently operating in Thailand, according to Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the government’s National Economic and Social Development Council.

Another 49 are under construction, 11 projects have been approved and 117 more are under review, he said.

“We don’t have the power to suspend the construction of the 49 data centres” until the new rules are drawn up, Danucha told AFP.

“They are only asked for cooperation, if they would like to halt their construction pending the clearer regulations, which are expected next month.”

New data centres — warehouse-like facilities that store online files and power AI tools from chatbots to image generators — are springing up worldwide, and the sector is growing particularly fast in Asia.

Microsoft announced in March it would invest more than US$1 billion in cloud and AI data centre infrastructure and operations in Thailand over the next two years.

The news followed Google’s launch in January of a new “cloud region” in Bangkok, with data centres that would contribute more than US$40 billion to Thailand over five years.

But there are concerns in Thailand that the lack of rules up to now has allowed centres to pop up without proper consideration or regulation.

On Thursday, the energy ministry raised concerns over a Bangkok data centre it said was stockpiling 200,000 litres of diesel in underground tanks without permission.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the capital had received six applications for standalone data centres, three of which have been operating since 2022, with the other three paused pending review. — AFP