Data Centers in Bhutan

Bhutan – High-Altitude Resilience and Renewable Power

Executive Summary

Bhutan is a specialized sanctuary for organizations prioritizing carbon neutrality and geopolitical stability in South Asia. Its nearly 100% renewable grid provides a secure, low-cost environment for high-performance computing and disaster recovery far from the volatility of major neighboring power markets.

Bhutan: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

The local infrastructure environment emphasizes reliability and regional peering over massive carrier volume. This makes it an effective location for specific workloads requiring stability.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 5. The market features a focused group of providers, including Bhutan Telecom and TashiCell, providing sturdy fiber backhaul to international gateways as of September 2025.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: Over 0, enabling access to 0 cloud regions. There are no local on-ramps for major global providers in the country. Access to AWS or Microsoft Azure is managed through private network interconnects to the nearest hub cities in India, such as Kolkata, as of September 2025.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): The Bhutan Internet Exchange (Bix) facilitates local traffic exchange to reduce latency and improve domestic network performance for all connected participants as of September 2025.

Bare Metal: Localized bare metal services are available through regional providers and specialized firms like Hivelocity to support high-performance requirements as of September 2025.

Power Analysis

Power is the primary advantage for infrastructure in this region, driven by abundant and renewable natural resources.

Average Cost Of Power: Based on industrial rates, costs range between $0.05–$0.07/kWh as of September 2025. This competitive pricing, combined with a 93% low-carbon energy mix from hydropower, provides a significant operational advantage for power-hungry operations.

Power Grid Reliability: The grid is well-engineered and benefits from significant domestic hydropower generation. Major tech corridors utilize redundant feeds and multi-substation support to maintain consistent delivery to critical facilities as of September 2025.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Bhutan offers a stable environment for firms looking to establish a footprint in a secure, neutral location within South Asia.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Infrastructure is concentrated near the Thimphu TechPark and the Zung–Ngae area. This placement provides proximity to government administration and national telecommunications hubs.

Regional Market Reach: While the domestic market is small, the location is positioned to serve as a disaster recovery or secondary site for the broader South Asian region, particularly for firms with a presence in India.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Standard corporate tax structures apply as there are no specialized tax breaks currently active for data centers. The primary financial benefit remains the exceptionally low operational cost of renewable energy as of September 2025.

Natural Disaster Risk

Bhutan maintains a low overall risk profile with a score of 2.9 (Low) as of September 2025. While the overall classification is low, specific natural factors require resilient facility engineering.

• Earthquake (6.8): High seismic activity is the primary natural hazard, requiring facilities to adhere to strict structural standards as of September 2025.
• Epidemic (5.0): Moderate risk rating reflects regional health infrastructure trends as of September 2025.
• River Flood (4.2): Moderate risk managed through careful site selection in highland areas as of September 2025.
• Other Hazards: Risks such as Tsunami and Tropical Cyclones are non-existent due to the landlocked, high-altitude geography. Drought and Coastal Flood risks are negligible as of September 2025.