Capacity at Crematoria to Meet Demand

Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether there have been recent occasions of insufficient capacity at NEA’s crematoria to meet demands for cremation; (b) what plans does NEA have to increase capacity at its crematoria to deal with increased demands; and (c) whether NEA will explore more environmentally-friendly ways to cremate bodies with a view to reducing the release of carbon dioxide produced upon cremation and use of energy for the process.

The Mandai Crematorium, which is managed by NEA, has sufficient capacity to meet current demand. NEA has handled intermittent higher demand for cremation by adding additional cremation time slots at Mandai Crematorium. While we add capacity in the near term through operational adjustments, we are constructing a second crematorium in Mandai, which will be operational by 2024, to increase our long-term capacity.

NEA performs regular maintenance on its cremators to ensure serviceability and efficiency of the cremation process. We will continue to study new technologies and other means to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.