On Wednesday evening, Minister for Home Affairs Taina Bofferding and Minster for Spatial Planning Claude Turmes presented the plans for the new CGDIS intervention centre, which will both function as a home base for Nordstad operations and a junction for northern Luxembourg in general.
According to CGDIS spokesperson Steve Meyer, the centre will have emergency teams ready to be deployed at all times. He explained that the goal is to have a team of 20 to 25 people, as well as fire engines, ambulances, and special vehicles.
CCDIS general director Paul Schroeder noted that a training installation will also be set up on location: “We will have a debris field so that canine units can train search operations. There will also be a place for fire simulations so that we can train how to extinguish a fire under real-life conditions.”
After the location for the new CGDIS centre caused numerous disagreements in recent years, Minister Bofferding was happy to announce that progress has finally been made:
“Looking at Ettelbruck and Diekirch, it becomes apparent that it is more than necessary to set up a new centre. Then there is also the PNOS, the National Plan for the Organisation of the Emergency Services. Here, it is our goal to reduce the time it takes first responders to provide help within 15 minutes regardless of where in the country. And we need the right infrastructure to achieve this goal, meaning we have to carefully think about the best strategic location for the centres.”
Among the factors considered ahead of the designation were accessibility, size, price, and environmental impact. Although a number of procedures have to be respected, Minister Turmes shared his expectation that the new centre will be built by 2026.
