Thailand’s rapid expansion of data centres is raising concerns over public safety, pollution and regulatory oversight after authorities discovered that a facility in Bangkok had been illegally storing 200,000 litres of oil.
The discovery followed complaints from stallholders at a market along Rama XI, an arterial road in the Thai capital. They said they had initially been unaware of a boxy structure covered in gunmetal grey panels that had been rapidly built opposite their stalls. Several months ago, they began noticing a nauseating smell of oil in the area, which also has a hospital nearby.
Complaints eventually led to the discovery that a data centre had been established at the site. Authorities subsequently found that oil residue had leaked into a nearby canal following a spill. The facility’s operator had not been given permission to store such a large quantity of fuel.
The case prompted Thai authorities to conduct inspections and address a legal loophole that had allowed data centres to avoid classification as such. The facilities could instead be registered as warehouses or factories, despite consuming large quantities of energy and water.
For residents and workers in the surrounding community, the incident has intensified concerns that Thailand is accepting major data centre investments without adequate consultation or explanation.
“I don’t know much about what this data centre is for. But it’s frightening that even the oil could leak into our drainage,” Yui, a stallholder in her 60s, said, giving only a nickname.
“I heard that it could generate a lot of heat too. Where will all the heat go? I can’t even get permission to modify my house, but these guys can just build this massive data centre right in the middle of our community? They didn’t even need a permit.”
The BKKO1 data centre inspected by authorities was linked to a US$1 billion investment by Dubai conglomerate DAMAC in Thailand, in collaboration with a local partner. DAMAC announced the investment in 2024, saying Thailand would serve as a Southeast Asian gateway providing access to chips, printed circuit boards and other infrastructure needed to power and eventually “hyperscale” the data centre once operations were scheduled to begin this year.
The discovery appears to have caught Bangkok authorities off guard, highlighting tensions between Thailand’s drive to attract foreign technology investment and regulators’ ability to keep pace with rapidly developing infrastructure.
Across Southeast Asia, billions of dollars are being invested in data centres as technology companies build infrastructure ahead of expected demand. In Bangkok, however, dozens of existing, planned and developing facilities have raised fears over public safety and pollution because of their proximity to populated urban areas.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul called on data centre operators to pause construction while his government works on “airtight” laws to reclassify the facilities and protect public safety.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the problem stemmed from regulatory gaps. “The term ‘data centre’ has never been defined in the law,” he told reporters, explaining that permit applications were filed as warehouses. Consequently, he said, they were not subject to environmental impact assessment requirements or industrial factory permits.
If convicted, the operator of the Bangkok facility could face a 200,000 baht (US$6,000) fine for illegally storing the fuel. For nearby stallholders, however, the penalty has raised questions about whether the risks associated with rapidly expanding infrastructure are being adequately addressed.
“Before the authorities came to clean the drain, the smell of oil was so strong it gave me headaches,” one long-time stallholder said. “It’s better now. But the people who did this only have to pay a 200,000 baht fine for this. That is one baht for every litre.”
