Thailand approves 200 billion baht of projects to expand Bangkok metro system, data-centre network

[BANGKOK] Thailand approved investment applications worth a combined 200 billion baht (S$7.9 billion), led by a Bangkok transit line and three data centres, giving a potential boost to the nation’s lacklustre economic growth.

The biggest project is Bangkok Expressway and Metro’s 109 billion baht investment in the so-called Orange Line to help connect Bangkok’s western and eastern suburbs, according to a Board of Investment (BOI) statement after its board meeting on Monday (Mar 17).

Also approved for tax and other incentives were three data-centre and cloud-services projects, the largest being China’s Beijing Haoyang Cloud Data Technology’s 72.7 billion baht plan for a facility with an information technology load of 300 megawatts in Rayong province, the BOI said. In January, social media platform TikTok won approval to invest US$3.8 billion in data-hosting services.

“Ensuring that the digital infrastructure, including data centres, keeps in line with the demand of foreign investors and local entrepreneurs is essential to Thailand’s competitiveness,” said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the BOI.

The government is seeking to ramp up economic growth this year to as high as 3.5 per cent, from 2.5 per cent in 2024, by boosting exports, tourism and investment. Investment applications jumped 35 per cent year on year to US$33 billion in 2024, the most in about a decade, led by foreign firms’ projects in the digital sector.

The board also revised rules to encourage projects in the healthcare sector by offering companies entering joint ventures with government agencies longer income-tax holidays if they build hospitals with at least 91 beds for overnight patients, according to the statement.