Cyprus Mail 28 January 2025 - by Tom Cleaver
The construction of a new crematorium in Paphos may not be complete until next year, according to reports on Monday.
News website Reporter wrote that while the initial plan was for the crematorium, which would be Cyprus’ first, to be complete and operational by midway through this year, the project has suffered delays before construction has even begun.
The website reported that no tender has yet been put out for the crematorium’s construction, and that given the time required for expressions of interest to be submitted and then for bids to be made and accepted, it may not be possible to build the crematorium before the end of this year.
It added that the delays are not related to financial issues but to “various situations”, though it did not clarify what these may be.
A spokesperson for the Ayia Varvara village council, the village in which the crematorium will be built, told the Cyprus Mail that after the granting of an initial licence to construct a crematorium, a request has since been made for “more square metres”, with the village council set to offer an opinion on the request in due course.
The Cyprus Mail attempted to contact the Paphos municipality and the Angel Guardians funeral home, of which Maureen Watt, director of MW Crematorium Cyprus Ltd is also a director, to confirm or deny the reports, but received no response.
The initial plan for the crematorium saw the building set to be 11,000 square metres in area and built from reinforced concrete and bricks, built over two floors – a basement and a ground floor.
The plot allocated to the crematorium was over 455,000 square metres in area, with the cost having been estimated at €2.2 million.
The plan foresaw that on the ground floor, there would be a main entrance and a waiting area for visitors, three offices for crematorium staff, a kitchen, a ceremony area with seating for 70 funeralgoers, as well as sanitary facilities.
In the basement, there would be facilities for receiving and preparing the bodies, an incinerator, an ash delivery office, refrigerators for the temporary storage of the body, as well as three parking spaces for cars.
Cremation has been legal in Cyprus since 2016, though no crematorium has yet been built.
MW Crematorium Cyprus’ other director Neofytos Christodoulides had last year explained that those who wish to be cremated in Cyprus must make a declaration by filling out a special form. This form is then submitted to the interior ministry for approval.
To this end, he noted that the procedures in countries such as Greece and the United Kingdom are different, saying that if the deceased’s child or spouse wishes for them to be cremated, their will is followed.
He said that he hopes such a simplification of the relevant laws and processes can also be implemented in Cyprus, “especially for cases in which someone dies suddenly without having completed the relevant application while alive.”
He went on to explain the planned location of the crematorium, saying that there had been a “great interest” in the construction of a crematorium from third country nationals in the Paphos district.
Between 70 and 80 per cent of third country nationals residing in the Paphos district prefer cremation as their form of after-death care, as opposed to other options, such as burial.
In addition, he said, a number of Greek Cypriots had also expressed interest in the possibility of being cremated after death, but that at present, funeral homes offering cremation services were having to send bodies abroad for cremation, incurring increased costs for their families.
With the construction of a crematorium on the island, he said the cost per body is expected to range between €800 and €900.
