Democrat Party Opposes Bangkok Data Centers

The Democrat Party has opposed data center development in Bangkok, instead advocating that such projects be directed to the Eastern Economic Corridor zone. Speaking on September 5, Passin Pitutecha, deputy spokesman of the Democrat Party, criticized the Eastern Economic Corridor project, which has operated for eight to nine years with limited success due to government inconsistency and shifting priorities. He cited his home district of Ban Khai, which still struggles to relocate industrial waste, questioning how the corridor can be expanded under such conditions.

Passin noted that the government approved a 4 billion baht budget for 2027, allocating 50 million baht annually, which would require eight years to complete. He stated that data centers seeking Board of Investment incentives should be located in the Eastern Economic Corridor zone, not Bangkok, emphasizing that data centers require significant land, water, and electricity resources. However, he stressed that electricity usage must be separated from household power grids.

Passin outlined six proposals for data center operations in Thailand: establishing a tax collection plan, determining applications for development, providing technological knowledge for job creation, implementing BOI incentives, hiring local workers, and ensuring investment benefits reach communities through a data center fund supporting education.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party spokesman Jirawat Changwat raised concerns about the high-speed rail project connecting three airports, noting that private developers want to terminate the project because it lacks profitability and benefits for the Eastern Economic Corridor. He urged the government and Prime Minister, in his capacity as EEC board chair, to clarify their stance and work toward consensus among public agencies and private investors to prevent the project's failure.