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A service hall at Cape Collinson Crematorium will be re-opened for public use on Wednesday (April 18) after being closed for seven months for a $5 million refurbishment programme.

A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said: "It is our pledge to provide efficient and dignified cremation services for the public.

"The department has implemented a number of new initiatives to upgrade the services after conducting a comprehensive review in early 2000.

"As it is both a tradition and a practice for family members to pay their last respect to the deceased at the service halls of crematoria, we have been working closely with the Architectural Services Department for a phased programme to upgrade the service halls."

Cape Collinson Crematorium is the first public crematorium to be refurbished. The fixtures and fittings of a service hall, which is designed for both Chinese and Christian ceremonies, have been upgraded to create a warmer and more user-friendly environment to the bereaved.

The new service hall, with a total area of 130 square metres, has a comfortable seating area. The hall is installed with an air conditioning system, a public address system and a television monitor for the public to view the transportation of coffin from the service hall into the cremator.

The other two service halls at Cape Collinson Crematorium, namely the Chinese Service Hall and Christian Service Hall, will also be upgraded in phases, the spokesman said.

The department has planned to replace old and timeworn cremators in Kwai Chung, Fu Shan and Diamond Hill Crematoria in phases from 2001 to 2005. The renovation works of service halls in these crematoria will tie in with the improvement programmes of cremators.

End/Monday, April 16, 2001

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