Malta’s first crematorium could be up and running within two years, according to a funeral director with plans to build and operate one in Paola.

Johann Camilleri told Times of Malta his team was revising plans submitted three years ago to conform with planning rules for crematoriums approved by the government last month.

He said his company Active Group Limited was having to downsize its original plans for a 700-square-metre site to one of 500 square metres – the maximum allowed by the new policy – but remained committed to the project.

“It is less feasible, but still doable... It will mean a couple of months delay, but this gives our engineers time to see how to reduce the size of the plans,” he said.  

Camilleri said his company was aiming to submit revised plans to the PA by the end of next month and was hoping to offer cremation within the next two years.  

In 2021, his company Active Group Limited applied to build a crematorium on private land close to the Addolorata cemetery, a location Camilleri described as “ideal” for the facility.

Addolorata is Malta’s main cemetery and has been in use since the 1860s, although evidence suggests the Tal-Ħorr hill it was built on has been in use for burial purposes since prehistoric times.

Malta legalised cremation in 2019, permitting cremation services to be offered at existing cemeteries, and in 2022 introduced the Cremation Act, legalising standalone crematoriums.  

But it would be another two years until a policy for the development of such facilities was approved, with Planning Minister Clint Camilleri rubber-stamping the final guidelines last month, paving the way for companies to turn their ideas into tangible proposals.

With an estimated 500 to 1,000 requests for cremations annually – between 10 and 20 per cent of the around 5,000 deaths per year – it was not feasible to have more than one operator in the country- Planning Minister Clint Camilleri

Camilleri stressed that despite the development of crematoriums now being given the green light by authorities, “the most important question is how many companies will be allowed to build one”. 

Warning of the dangers of the sector becoming a “free-for-all”, he said that with estimated demand representing between 500 to 1,000 requests for cremations annually – between 10 and 20 per cent of the around 5,000 deaths per year – it was not feasible to have more than one operator in the country.

“Malta cannot take more than one crematorium; if there were two, it is very likely they would both go bust... I know for a fact there isn’t the demand to sustain more than one,” he said.  

Explaining that his planned crematorium represented an investment of around €3 million, Camilleri said his company would be “less willing to invest in top-quality equipment” if the sector was opened up to the free market.  

'Cremation should not be left up to the market'

Pressed on whether such a warning represented a desire to create a monopoly, he said the government could avoid the dangers associated with monopolies by issuing a tender for a crematorium operator, allowing it to set prices and guarantee quality standards. 

“Cremation should not be left up to the market,” he said, warning such a scenario could allow “inexperienced operators” to begin operating, driving down standards. 

However, he said his company would “go ahead anyway” if the government did not decide to issue a tender, pointing to his company’s acquisition of the Paola site and the money it had already poured into research and development for the project.

Times of Malta understands that at least one other company also has plans to open a crematorium within the next years.

The lack of specific guidelines delayed the development of standalone crematoria. Inset: Clint Camilleri. Photos: Shutterstock and Facebook

How should crematoriums be built?

The newly announced policy, a partial review of existing cemetery regulations, offers design guidelines for standalone crematoriums. 

It specifies appropriate locations, how the crematorium should be designed sustainably, and ensures compliance with environmental and health regulations. 

The building should take up no more than 500 square metres and the main structure cannot be taller than 7.7 metres. Additionally, the crematorium must be situated at least 183 metres away from any residential buildings.

Crematoriums not part of a cemetery will only be considered if outside the development zone but up to 1.5km from the boundary of principal urban areas. In Gozo, cremation facilities will only be considered in Rabat and Xewkija.

Until now, families wishing to cremate their loved ones had to send the body to Sicily or the UK, a service costing around €4,500.

The issue came to the fore recently after well-known performer Roger Tirazona spoke about the distress of failing to fulfil his dying father’s wish of having his body cremated and taken to the Philippines.