A Thai opposition MP has called for the formation of a parliamentary committee to scrutinize data center development, as a surge of projects backed by billions of dollars in tech investment raises alarms over water and electricity scarcity in the country's main industrial zone. Sahassawat Kumkong, a member of the reformist People's Party, said Thailand must balance economic gains with environmental protection and fairer distribution of benefits for communities hosting the facilities.
Growth strains resources
Kumkong represents Chonburi, a coastal province in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) where at least 13 data centers are under construction or in planning, and four are already operational. The region already faces severe water shortages and occasional blackouts. "I believe Thailand needs to rethink its overall approach to data center development," he told Mongabay. "The objective should not simply be to attract investment as quickly as possible. We also need to ensure that development is environmentally sustainable, that local communities are protected, and that the economic benefits are shared more fairly."
The buildup mirrors a global trend: tech companies are spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually on massive data centers to power the artificial intelligence boom. Thailand has positioned itself as a regional hub for the sector, but the resource demands are colliding with existing local constraints. More than 70 data center projects have been catalogued in Thailand, with around 40 operational, 20 under construction, and 10 in planning, according to a Mongabay report. In May, the Board of Investment approved three more projects, including a $25-billion facility from a ByteDance subsidiary.
Push for stronger oversight
The government has tried to speed up approvals through the Thai FastPass program, which cuts regulatory hurdles by coordinating eight agencies. A prime minister's office statement said the government is "transitioning from a regulatory body to a proactive business facilitator." Kumkong argues that approach prioritizes attracting capital over managing long-term consequences. His proposed committee would review water and energy planning, require stronger environmental safeguards, and create mechanisms for community benefit-sharing.
Energy officials have floated the idea of charging data centers higher electricity rates, with surplus revenue directed to renewable energy infrastructure or household power subsidies. Meanwhile, Kwanpadh Suddhi-Dhamakit, senior country officer for World Bank Thailand, has suggested closer scrutiny of water and power use by the sector, local media reported.
Local and expert pushback
Civil society groups warn that without strategic planning, Thailand could become a magnet for poorly regulated projects. Somnuck Jongmeewasin, research director at EEC Watch, said government agencies must collaborate on a sector-wide strategic environmental assessment to calculate the total resource load. "We have a lot of problems with water stress, including water-grabbing, and electricity blackouts," he said. "There is no way that all new data centers that have been approved in the EEC area are going to be sustainable when they become fully operational. Even if they buy their own water and power, these water and power supplies are from our shared supplies, from the same water reserves and power grids we rely on."
Farmers near Chonburi's Khlong Luang reservoir have voiced fears that the new facilities will worsen water shortages that already force them to compete with industrial users. The Energy Ministry and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society did not respond to requests for comment.
Why this matters for IT and Development
Data center location decisions directly affect IT infrastructure planning, cloud service latency, and operational costs. As Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations absorb more hyperscale projects, professionals in infrastructure, DevOps, and AI deployment must weigh regional water and power risks against expansion targets. If resource constraints trigger regulatory interventions-such as surcharges on electricity or mandatory environmental assessments-data center operators may face higher costs and longer lead times. Teams working on capacity planning and vendor selection should track local policy shifts in high-growth markets, because a change in government posture can ripple through hardware supply chains and service-level agreements.
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