Thai data centre capacity may triple on surging demand for AI
BANGKOK : Thailand's data centre capacity is expected to triple in the next three years as investments of about US$6.5 billion pour into the sector to meet surging demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
The nation's capacity is expected to rise to about 1GW in 2027 from 350MW in 2024, said Supparat Singhara Na Ayutthaya, vice chairman of the Thai Data Center Association.
'A data centre requires an investment of about US$10 million for each megawatt,' he said.
'Thailand has drawn tremendous interest for new data centre investments with its steady power generation and water supply,' Supparat said in an interview this week.
Alphabet Inc's Google, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp and Nvidia Corp are among global tech giants spending billions of dollars on AI infrastructure in Thailand and across Southeast Asia.
'There will be many more global technology companies further diversifying their data centre facilities to Thailand,' Supparat said.
The expansion of Thailand's data centre sector comes as the nation, a longtime manufacturing powerhouse for automobiles and electronics, accelerates efforts to boost its high-tech industries.
The government wants Thailand to catch up to countries such as Malaysia and Singapore, regional leaders in data centre and cloud computing services.
In the first half of the year, Thailand's Board of Investments approved investment applications worth ฿322 billion (US$9.9 billion) for 36 tech projects, most of which were data centres, according to its website.
'The data centre association is awaiting clarity about the US plan to restrict shipments of AI chips and what effect that could have on the nation's data centres,' Supparat said.
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