ASTRID Delegation Visits Hasselt's CIC Limburg, Showcasing Multidisciplinary Emergency Dispatching

Belgium's national public safety network operator gains insight into one of Europe's most integrated emergency control centres.

ASTRID, Belgium's operator of public safety communications networks, recently visited the Emergency Intervention Centre (CIC) of Limburg, located at Campus H in Hasselt, as part of its ongoing engagement with frontline emergency communications professionals across the country.

The CIC du Limbourg has earned a reputation as one of the most advanced and well-designed dispatching facilities in the world — a distinction reflected in both its physical design and its operational philosophy. Installed since 2019 on Campus H, the 101 and 112 control rooms operate side by side in a modern, open-plan environment that actively promotes daily collaboration between police and emergency medical services.

The ASTRID delegation was received by DirCo Robin Minten and Caroline Huens, head of the SICAD service, along with operational teams and technical experts from both the CIC and the CS112 centre.

An Integrated Campus Model

Campus H, which opened in 2018, serves as a flagship example of co-located public safety infrastructure in Belgium. The site brings together the Politie Limburg Regio Hoofdstad local police zone, the Hulpverleningszone Zuid-West Limburg rescue zone, the 101 and 112 emergency centres, administrative services, and the Hasselt prison — all within a single integrated security campus. This concentration of services has enabled a more cohesive and operationally agile response to emergencies across the province.

In 2025, CIC Limburg marked its 20th anniversary. The centre handles approximately 170,000 emergency calls annually and currently employs 101 staff, of whom 74 are in operational roles. The Pukkelpop festival storm in 2011 proved a defining moment for the centre, reinforcing the strategic importance of multidisciplinary coordination in high-pressure situations.

Operational Challenges and Cross-Border Communications

Despite its relatively compact scale, CIC Limburg plays a critical role in call-taking and dispatching for all local police zones in the province. Staffing pressures — particularly during night shifts — remain an ongoing operational challenge, though the centre continues to perform a vital function within

Belgium's broader public safety architecture.

The co-location of the 101 and 112 plants was highlighted as offering significant operational opportunities, even as differences in systems and working methods present practical complexities. Structured dialogue and a strong institutional willingness to collaborate were identified as essential foundations for effective joint working, with a shared ambition to progress towards greater integration and genuinely multidisciplinary solutions.

Cross-border communications also featured prominently in discussions. CIC Limburg underlined the need for more effective radio interoperability in a cross-border context, particularly with Dutch emergency services partners. This includes the use of ASTRID radios in semi-roaming mode across the ASTRID and C2000 networks, as well as greater flexibility in the management of radio licensing arrangements.

PURE and NextGen PSAP: The Control Room of Tomorrow

The visit provided an opportunity for ASTRID to brief CIC Limburg's teams on two major forward-looking initiatives: the PURE project and the NextGen PSAP programme, both aimed at defining the next generation of emergency control panel technology and replacing the current CAD 9.3 system.
Built on principles of modularity and user co-creation, both projects place particular emphasis on change management. ASTRID's key message to dispatchers and call-takers was clear: technology must remain intuitive and genuinely supportive of operational staff, without introducing additional complexity or cognitive burden in an already high-pressure environment.

The visit reinforced ASTRID's commitment to close engagement with the emergency communications professionals who depend on its infrastructure daily, and to developing future solutions that reflect real-world operational needs.