The International Code Council (ICC) is the recipient of the Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) grant to partially underwrite the work that the Code Council will undertake with the Gulf Standardization Organization (GSO) to publish a suite of regional model building codes.

The grant is a show of support for the work undertaken by GSO since it entered into an agreement with the Code Council in 2016 to develop the unified Gulf Building Code. ICC reports that the Gulf Building Code is a family of consistent and coordinated codes that will reference more than one thousand international standards and promote sustainability and affordability in commercial construction and housing. Utilization of the Gulf Building Code will support the use of new technologies such as 3D printing, off-site construction, and those that promote the improved energy performance of buildings.

"The Code Council is excited to have the support of the U.S. Government through the International Trade Administration’s Market Development Cooperator Program to advance our work with our partners at the Gulf Standardization Organization,” said Code Council CEO Dominic Sims, CBO. “We have identified the MENA region as a priority region for our global focus, and launching a regional code is a huge step forward in advancing harmonized building safety efforts.”

For more information on the Code Council’s global initiatives, visit https://global.iccsafe.org/ and download 2025 Vision: Strategic Plan for the Future.