Macau (MNA) – Residents living nearby said they do not want a crematorium to be built in their neighbourhood, after the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) released a plan to build a crematorium inside Taipa Sa Kong Municipal Cemetery, which is located in the vicinity of several residential properties.
In a press release published on Friday, IACM stated that a new crematorium is needed because the demand for cremations has been rising every year, with over 75 per cent of the city’s deceased being cremated in 2017, a number that has doubled since 2007.
IACM stated that according to the law, crematoriums are only allowed to be set up in cemeteries, and therefore Sa Kong Municipal Cemetery is the “best” location for a crematorium in terms of traffic and the surrounding environment.
However, Taipa Sa Kong Municipal Cemetery is in the immediate vicinity of several properties such as Hoi Van Gardens, Pearl on the Lough, Lake Building and the Macau Anglican College, which are located some 500 metres from the area.
“I am still concerned that any possible odours coming out from the crematorium would impact our property values,” said a homeowner of one of the residential buildings nearby.
Others expressed concerns over the possibility that smoke from the crematorium would affect their health condition.
“Who knows if the smoke will create negative impacts to our health. Once it’s built, it’s there forever, there is no way to remove it anymore,” said another resident who lives nearby.
The bureau also stressed that any fumes released as a result of cremations will be filtered by multiple devices, that the emissions being put out will be in line with European Union (EU) standards, and that natural gas will be used as a clean energy source.
Pro-democracy group New Macau Association (NMA) held a press conference on Friday demanding greater public transparency of funeral processes, and suggested the government adopt the procedure of promession in replacement of traditional cremation.
