Muscat - In a significant move to boost sustainable development through harmonised standards, the draft of unified building codes for all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will be introduced next year.
The draft was supposed to be ready by the end of 2014, but technical studies are not complete yet and the codes are expected to be published by the end of 2015, a senior official at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry told reporters here yesterday.
Saoud Nasser Mansoor Al Khusaibi, director general for standards and metrology, was speaking on the sidelines of GCC Building Code Forum, which began on Sunday and concludes today. Forty people from all GCC countries and Yemen participated in the event.
Eleven building codes
Al Khusaibi said that the forum reviewed the results of the studies conducted by the technical and consultancy committees, each of which deals with different building codes. There are as many as 11 building codes, including electrical, mechanical, and structural codes, the official explained.
Al Khusaibi said that the unified building codes will serve as guidelines and are supposed to act as a reference point. For three years, they will not be mandatory and will be studied further, but later they may become mandatory, he noted. "The plan will be implemented in phases."
The codes will be customised as per local requirements of each country and comply with international standards, he said, adding that all GCC countries are full members of ISO, the international standard-setting body as well as GCC Standardisation Organization (GSO).
According to the director-general, the codes will help improve the safety of the buildings and enhance infrastructure development.
The purpose of introducing such codes is to better protect the buildings and the environment, he said, adding that the move can be a crucial step forward to build energy-efficient buildings and introduce green building codes.
Given the similar nature of the GCC countries, especially in terms of weather conditions, adoption of unified codes can benefit all the Gulf countries, he noted.
National codes
Al Khusaibi said that each Gulf country has been working on its own national building code, with Saudi Arabia being the only country to have completed its national code.
All GCC countries are of the opinion that Saudi Arabia's building code can be used as a base for their national codes, he added.
According to the official, Oman currently does not have a national building code and that is why a national committee for building codes was established in 2012 to introduce the necessary regulations.
The committee comprises representatives of all the authorities concerned, including the municipalities, the Ministry of Housing and Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, Al Khusaibi said.
Saudi Arabia's code can also benefit Oman since it will take a long time for Oman if it wants to start from scratch, the official said.
© Times of Oman 2014
