The American Concrete Institute (ACI) (Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA) recently inaugurated a regional office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This new Middle East branch is the first ACI office located outside the United States in the organization’s 115-year history. Among the events held at the regional office celebration was a roundtable meeting that provided networking and idea exchange opportunities to attendees from Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, India, and Pakistan.
The new Dubai office is headed by ACI Middle East Regional Director Ahmad Mhanna (pictured, far left), who was named to that position back in October. He is a civil engineer experienced in concrete and construction materials testing, analysis, and applications. An ACI member with multiple certifications, he previously served as a certification examiner for the organization.
Under Mhanna’s leadership, the Middle East Regional Office will seek to develop, disseminate, and adopt ACI’s consensus-based standards, technical resources, and educational programs. “This office will lead efforts to establish and nurture a wide range of strategic relationships between ACI members, chapters, companies, governmental bodies, educational institutions, partners, and other construction industry organizations throughout the region and beyond,” he said.
According to ACI Executive Vice President Ronald G. Burg, the organization’s new Dubai office will benefit both to the Middle East and the global concrete community. “In addition to strengthening strategic relationships and increasing access to the Institute’s consensus-based technical and educational resources, it is the intent of the American Concrete Institute that our Middle East Regional Office serves as a vehicle for increasing the awareness of regional concrete design and construction practices,” Burg said.
Source: American Concrete Institute, www.concrete.org