SINGAPORE: A new crematorium and ash-scattering garden will open in Mandai on Aug 15, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Monday (Jul 28).

Located next to the existing Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium complex, the new Mandai North Crematorium will use automated guided vehicles to transport coffins and lockers for ash collection.

It has six service and viewing halls and can house 18 cremators, but will begin operations with three halls equipped with nine cremators. It will start with four cremation services daily and ramp up services progressively in the coming months.

NEA said it will fit out the remaining halls and add the additional cremators to meet an anticipated increase in demand for cremations in future. For comparison, the existing crematorium, which opened in 2004, has four halls and 12 cremators.

The crematorium and garden – called the Garden of Serenity – span about 2.4ha, slightly more than half the size of the Padang.

Annual resident deaths are expected to increase from about 25,000 in 2024 to around 40,000 by 2040, NEA said.

Meanwhile, the demand for inland ash scattering has increased from around 900 applications in 2021 to over 2,300 in 2024.

“The new crematorium will provide additional cremation capacity, and the (Garden of Serenity) will provide an additional option for the inland scattering of ashes,” said NEA. “They will enable us to continue serving the nation’s needs in the years ahead.”

Bookings for cremation slots will open on Aug 9, and the crematorium and garden will be open daily. The garden will be open from 9am to 5.30pm except when it is closed for maintenance.

Singapore also has two private crematoriums, but NEA handles more than 90 per cent of cremations.

ASH-SCATTERING GARDEN

The Garden of Serenity is the second inland ash-scattering garden in Singapore, after the Garden of Peace opened in 2021 in Choa Chu Kang. 

Ashes can also be scattered at sea or stored in columbariums or at home.

The Garden of Serenity, which is within the new Mandai North facility, has four ash-scattering lanes in the shape of a leaf. 

Granite boulders that were excavated during its construction, which started in 2017, are used for seating along the lanes.

The garden also features a pond and lush foliage, meant to create a peaceful and dignified environment.

Each lane in the garden is named after a flower and is around 10m long. Ashes can be scattered on pebbles, which sit atop granite chippings and soil. Water sprinklers or canisters can be used to help the ashes filter through the layers.

Religious ceremonies or rites, including the burning of joss sticks, leaving of food offerings and playing of music, will not be allowed. However, fresh flowers can be placed on racks around the garden.

At 750 sqm, the Garden of Serenity is much smaller than the Garden of Peace, which is 9,500 sqm in size. 

NEA said that accumulated “ash soil” will periodically be transferred from the Garden of Serenity in Mandai to a designated location in the Garden of Peace in Choa Chu Kang to ensure that people can continue to use the smaller garden.

The fee for ash-scattering at the gardens is S$320.

AUTOMATION, QR CODES

Mandai North Crematorium will make use of technology to ensure service reliability, including through the use of automated guided vehicles to transport coffins.

At the existing crematorium, staff members push a trolley carrying the coffin.

Funeral service providers will receive a cremation permit with a QR code, which must be scanned outside the service hall to ensure that the casket is at the right hall at the right time.

The automated guided vehicle and screen outside the service hall will also reflect the deceased’s name, the date and the time, before the casket is unloaded from the hearse. A QR code on the automated vehicle will be used for verification before the coffin is placed into a cremator.

Mourners will then need to be seated before the automated guided vehicle transports the casket to the front of the service hall.

The service halls feature slopes instead of steps, to improve accessibility for wheelchair users.

At the new facility, the viewing hall – where mourners watch the casket being transported toward the cremators – is located directly in front of the service hall. This is unlike the existing Mandai Crematorium, where the service halls are a distance away from the viewing halls.

NEA said the building’s layout was designed to minimise walking distances, especially for elderly visitors.

“A one-way visitor circulation flow caters to back-to-back cremation services, minimising the need for arriving and departing groups to cross paths. This arrangement provides a degree of privacy for each group of visitors and facilitates a sense of closure for the bereaved,” the agency said.

The new waiting halls at Mandai North Crematorium are also enclosed with glass panels to provide more privacy to families.

When the cremated remains are ready, an ash collection permit with a QR code will be sent via email. 

The registration process will involve verifying the applicant’s identity, before a queue number is provided and an ash-sorting room is assigned.

When the queue number is called, family members can scan a QR code to unlock a locker containing the ash box. There are three walls of lockers, and the lockers open one at a time on each wall.

Families can perform final rites in the ash-sorting room. Each room is equipped with a table, a bench and a wash basin.