Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council Standardization Organization (GSO) recently entered into an agreement with the American Concrete Institute (ACI) to cooperate towards a better understanding and use of concrete and cementitious materials in civil infrastructure. The agreement–signed in Doha, Qatar, by Ronald G. Burg, executive vice president of ACI, and Nabil bin Ameen Molla, Ph.D., secretary general of the GCC Standardization Organization–provides permission to utilize 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, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

GSO and ACI have also agreed to further expand their technical coordination through the designation of official organizational representatives at technical seminars and symposia. GSO will encourage individuals involved in the concrete industry to attend ACI conventions, become active members of ACI committees, and participate in ACI’s chapters in the Gulf region. ACI also plans to be more active in Gulf region activities focused on concrete design, construction, and materials.