TikTok leads with US$25 billion investment out of US$29 billion in major projects approved by Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) recently. The TikTok System (Thailand) Co., Ltd., project will install additional servers and expand data storage and processing infrastructure across Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao Province, in addition to developing digital literacy and e-commerce curricula to support rising demand for digital services.
The second data center project approved was Skyline Data Center and Cloud Services Co., Ltd., part of the UAE-based DAMAC Group, which had committed 46 billion baht (USD 1.4 billion), in a 200 MW data center project in Chachoengsao.
Singapore-based Bridge Data Centres IIO (Thailand) Co., Ltd.’s 134 MW data center project in Chonburi was also approved with an investment value of 24.6 billion baht (USD 746 million).
Apart from the three data center projects above, the BOI had also approved three other projects in the renewable energy, circular economy and resource-based industries. A significant project was a 89-MW wind power generation project in Nakhon Ratchasima proposed by Dan Khun Thot Wind One Co., Ltd. with an investment of 4.7 billion baht (USD 143 million).
The approvals were made at a BOI Board meeting chaired by Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. The meeting also discussed steps to strengthen electricity readiness and improve access to clean energy — two increasingly important factors in attracting large-scale digital and high-technology investment, according to a press release by the BOI.
Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary General of the BOI, said: “Amid continuing global volatility, investment in Thailand’s digital and advanced technology sectors continues to grow, reflecting investor confidence in the country’s potential as a regional technology hub. For Thailand to capture this new investment cycle, we must be ready not only with investment incentives, but also with sufficient power, clean-energy options, skilled talent, deeper supply chains and a reliable facilitation system that allows projects to move quickly from approval to operation.”
In terms of strengthening electricity readiness, Thailand will focus on the urgent power supply needs for incoming investment, particularly in the Eastern region. It will accelerate the issuance of Thailand’s Power Development Plan (PDP) to support future demand, new energy technologies and long-term power-system planning.
Clean energy mechanisms such as Direct Renewable Power Purchase Agreements, or Direct PPA, and the upcoming launch of Utility Green Tariff 2, or UGT2, a source-specific green tariff designed to give companies more options for procuring clean electricity, were discussed.
The BOI was also tasked with overseeing regulatory improvements that would facilitate clean energy investment, including easing power-generation licensing conditions for foreign operators installing solar rooftops, and clarifying rules to support self-generation under Independent Power Supply, or IPS, arrangements.