Thailand: DPT Signals New Town Planning and Building Control Measures for Data Centre Businesses
On 7 September 2026, the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning (“DPT”) issued a public statement outlining its intended approach to town planning and building control for data centre businesses in Thailand (the “DPT Statement”). The DPT Statement was issued following public discussion regarding the growth of data centre businesses and the need for clearer criteria under building control, town planning and environmental laws.
The DPT recognises data centres as important digital infrastructure supporting Thailand's digital economy. At the same time, it emphasises that investment promotion should be accompanied by appropriate standards relating to safety, land use, building construction, and the management of impacts on residents and surrounding communities.
Importantly, the DPT Statement does not itself introduce any final regulations. Rather, it signals the DPT's current policy direction and proposed approach to future regulation, including: (i) construction permit considerations; (ii) town planning measures; (iii) building-control measures; and (iv) inspection of existing data centre buildings.
Key Takeaways
Issue | Key point |
|---|---|
Regulatory status | No final regulation has yet been issued. The DPT Statement sets out the DPT’s intended regulatory approach and should be monitored as an indication of its future policy direction. |
Town planning | The DPT intends to introduce a specific definition of data centre for land-use purposes, covering both data centres providing services to third parties and data centres for an operator’s own use. |
Project Scale | Small and medium-sized data centres may, subject to certain conditions, be permitted in a wider range of land-use categories, while large data centres are expected to be permitted only in specifically designated areas. |
Building control | A sub-committee will be appointed to draft a ministerial regulation specifically governing buildings used as data centres. |
Existing facilities | The DPT will coordinate with local administrative organisations to inspect existing data centre buildings, with the inspections covering building safety, impactson surrounding communities and construction permit information. |
1. Current Position: Data Centres Are Still Assessed Under Existing Building Categories
At present, where a building is intended to be used as a data centre, the local competent official assess the proposed use set out in the construction permit application by reference to existing categories of buildings or business categories. Depending on the stated purpose and design, construction permits for data centre projects have so far been sought under categories such as office buildings, commercial buildings or warehouses.
The assessment is based on the intended use and the building's characteristics, form and proportions as shown in the plans submitted for approval. As a result, the classification of a data centre project may depend significantly on how the project is described, designed and presented in the construction permit application.
Existing Building Control Requirements to Consider
Category | Current requirements |
|---|---|
Buildings with an area of less than 10,000 sq.m. or that do not qualify as high-rise buildings | Must comply with applicable requirements for fire safety, open space and building lines/setbacks. |
Buildings with an area of 10,000 sq.m. or more | Must comply with more stringent fire-safety, open-space and building-line/setback requirements, and a building inspector must be appointed. |
Controlled-use building | If a data centre building qualifies as a controlled-use building, it must also comply with the ministerial regulation on construction materials for controlled-use buildings. |
2.Proposed Town Planning Measures
The DPT intends to introduce a specific definition of data centre for land-use purposes under comprehensive town plans. The proposed definition is expected to cover both data centres that provide services to third parties and data centres for an operator's own use.
This is an important point for the market because the proposed framework would not be limited to commercial colocation facilities or other data centres providing services tothird parties. Data centres for an operator's own use may also be covered if they fall within the relevant definition.
- Small and medium-sized data centres: low-impact facilities may be permitted on land designated for residential, commercial, or industrial use, as well as in certain rural and agricultural areas, subject to building coverage ratio (BCR) and setback requirements and other relevant conditions.
- Large data centres: facilities with wider-ranging impacts are expected to be permitted only in specifically designated areas.
The DPT Statement does not yet specify the numerical thresholds for determining whether a data centre is small, medium-sized or large. The applicable thresholds will therefore be a key issue to monitor as the town planning provisions are developed.
3. Proposed Building Control Measures
The DPT will appoint a sub-committee to draft a ministerial regulation governing buildings used as data centres.
The draft regulation is expected to address the definition and types of data centre buildings, criteria, methods and conditions for their construction, fire safety, the maintenance of orderly conditions for residents and surrounding communities, and the requirement for a building inspector to be appointed for data centre buildings.
In practical terms, this suggests that data centre buildings may become subject to a more tailored building control regime, rather than being assessed only by reference to existing general building categories.
4. Existing Data Centres and Local Authority Inspections
The DPT will coordinate with local administrative organisations to inspect existing data centre buildings. The inspection is expected to cover building safety, impacts on surrounding communities and construction permit information.
If an existing building, or its use, may endanger health, life, bodily safety or property, pose a fire safety risk, cause a nuisance, or affect environmental quality, the local competent official may order the owner or possessor to carry out remedial works or prohibit the use of the building, as the case may be.
According to the DPT Statement, the inspection of existing data centre buildings is scheduled to be completed by 12 September 2026.
5. Points That Remain to Be Clarified
The DPT Statement indicates the direction of future regulation, but a number of important details remain unclear. In particular, the DPT Statement does not yet specify:
- the numerical thresholds for small and medium-sized versus large data centres;
- the precise land-use sub-categories in which each type of data centre will be permitted;
- whether existing data centres will be grandfathered or subject to transitional requirements;
- the detailed requirements for power, water, cooling systems and environmental controls;
- the detailed fire-safety and building-safety standards that will apply specifically to data centres; and
- how the new measures will be reflected in approval, permitting, investment promotion and government service processes.
These points should be monitored as the draft ministerial regulation and relevant town planning provisions are developed.
Conclusion
The DPT Statement signals a move away from purely case-by-case classification of data centres under existing building categories towards a more specific regulatory framework for data centre businesses.
Although detailed regulations have not yet been issued, the direction is clear: new data centre projects and existing data centres are likely to face closer scrutiny of land use, building safety, fire safety, impacts on surrounding communities and environmental impacts.
