GCC municipal ministers decided to enforce the unified GCC building code in the second quarter of 2016.
The ministerial meeting discussed issues and agreed on recommendations, including implementation of the long-awaited code, said Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning H E Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani.
He was speaking to reporters at the end of the 19th meeting of the ministers.
The ministers approved municipal work award, a decision to document municipal workshops and training program held at GCC level, and the agenda of the forthcoming ninth municipal work conference, he said.
A municipal work prize will be awarded at the GCC level for the first time during the conference to be held in Doha in April 2016. It is an initiative to encourage competition.
Meanwhile, a senior official said the code is in the final stage and will be launched by the second quarter of 2016.
"It will be a pilot code for two years. During this period, it will be enriched through feedback which will be obtained from workshops and training courses and updated in line with latest achievements in the world," said Dr Mohammed bin Saif Al Kuwari, Assistant Undersecretary for Laboratories and Standardisation at the Ministry of Environment.
Al Kuwari, who gave a presentation at the ministers' meeting on the code, told this newspaper that the code aims to unify technical regulations and rules related to buildings in the GCC states.
The GCC member states have many things in common, including environmental and climatic factors, he added. After two years of development, the code will be used in universities, particularly in engineering colleges. Doha is the permanent headquarters of GCC codes, Al Kuwari added. The ministers' meeting was preceded by the 31st meeting of senior GCC municipal officials at Ritz-Carlton on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was headed by Mohamed Ahmed Al Sayed, Director, Doha Municipality, and attended by delegations of the member countries.
This meeting discussed proposals and the agenda included development of strategic urban planning and training centers, and establishment of specialized work teams and surveys, among others, Al Sayed said.
He added that all these topics will contribute to the advancement of GCC municipal works and deepen cooperation and coordination between our Gulf cities, "to achieve aspirations of our noble nations".
On the sideline of the 19th meetings of municipal ministers, several Qatari companies organized an exhibition for infrastructure projects.
The Peninsula
23 October
