Data centre dangers

AI projects are among the latest top draws in terms of global investment, with governments around the world, including Thailand, courting tech companies to launch such projects in their countries.

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Most are coming in the form of data centres, with servers, data storage and network equipment becoming the hot new investment for many.

The New York Times recently reported that 60% of the 1,244 largest data centres in the world were outside the United States. At least 575 such projects are reportedly now being built in Africa, Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Southeast Asia is also emerging as a major data centre hub led by Singapore and Malaysia. The Thai government is also expecting a windfall as Malaysia's Johor Bahru and Singapore are facing shortages of both electricity and water. Local developers are asking the government to upgrade the electricity network and produce more clean energy to cater to data centres.

The country plans to invest in and attract data centre development, expanding capacity from 350 megawatts to 1,000MW within three years, based on a total investment of US$6.5 billion (211 billion baht).