Civil Aviation Security: Inauguration of the EOC at Garoua International Airport
Published: Thursday, 30 April 2026 13:28
Minister of Transport Jean Ernest NGALLE BIBEHE Masséna presided over the official inauguration of this infrastructure in Garoua on Monday, April 27, 2026. Designed to bolster aviation safety, security, and aeronautical crisis management, the ceremony took place in the presence of local authorities, the Board Chairman of the CCAA, CCAA board members, the Director General of the CCAA, and numerous security partners.
The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), inaugurated today by the Minister of Transport, represents a strategic tool for sovereignty, security, and operational performance. With its commissioning, Garoua becomes the fourth international airport in Cameroon to be equipped with an EOC, following Douala, Yaoundé-Nsimalen, and Maroua. This project was driven by the initiative to upgrade all of Cameroon's international airports in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, specifically Annex 17 regarding civil aviation security, which mandates the establishment of robust mechanisms for prevention, coordination, and emergency management.
According to the Minister of Transport, this infrastructure consolidates the vision of Head of State H.E. Paul BIYA and underscores the Government's determination to elevate Garoua to the status of a premier airport hub, blending modernity, security, and operational excellence in full compliance with international civil aviation requirements.
The Garoua EOC is housed in a three-story building (ground floor plus two upper levels) and serves three fundamental missions:
Anticipating and effectively managing aeronautical crises through an inter-agency coordination framework;
Training and capacity building for aviation sector stakeholders using modern training and simulation facilities;
Ensuring a permanent operational presence of the Civil Aviation Authority at the heart of the airport platform.
This facility complements the extensive renovation work carried out by Aéroports Du Cameroun (ADC SA) to cement Garoua's international airport status. The Minister of Transport congratulated all parties involved in the completion of this project, which cost approximately 800 million FCFA. He particularly praised the strategic leadership of the Director General of the CCAA in driving the modernization of the civil aviation sector.
The Garoua EOC, like the three preceding centers, was funded by the World Bank as part of the aviation component of the Transport Sector Development Project (TSDP), with the CCAA serving as the contracting authority.
Trans:MKG
