Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council Standardization Organization recently entered into an agreement with the American Concrete Institute to cooperate towards a better understanding and use of concrete and cementitious materials in civil infrastructure.

This partnership confirms ACI Building Code requirements for the use of structural concrete (ACI 318-14) in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen
 
The agreement, signed by Ronald Burg, the executive vice-president of the American Concrete Institute, and Dr Nabil bin Ameen Molla, the secretary general of the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO), provides a framework for cooperation.  

Specifically, the agreement provides permission to utilise ACI's Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318), Specifications for Structural Concrete (ACI 301), and Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures (ACI 530), to develop a Gulf Building Code.

Once the Gulf Building Code is published in late 2019, ACI content modified to accommodate local conditions will be readily available to engineers, professors, students, and the governments of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Yemen, said Burg.  

GSO and ACI have also agreed to further expand their technical coordination through designation of official organizational representatives at technical seminars and symposia, he stated.

According to him, GSO will encourage individuals involved in the concrete industry to attend ACI conventions, become active members of ACI committees, and participate in ACI's many chapters in the Gulf region.  

ACI also plans to be more active in the Gulf region'd activities focused on concrete design, construction, and materials.  

"Our global concrete community is strengthened by knowledge sharing and togetherness," remarked Burg.

"Combining ACI's 100-plus years of consensus-based knowledge with the tremendous innovation occurring now in the Gulf region will accelerate us all toward the shared vision for a future where everyone has the knowledge needed to use concrete effectively," stated the top official.

"On behalf of the institute's 20,000 student and professional members globally, I eagerly await the many fruits will that come from this strengthened relationship," he added.  

First published in 1941 as the Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, ACI 318 provides minimum requirements for the materials, design, construction, and strength evaluation of structural concrete members and systems.-TradeArabia News Service