The Health Department is in the final stages of publishing a proposal for a holistic policy on cemeteries, Health Minister Joseph Cassar said in reply to a parliamentary question.

He said that 2,989 new graves are planned to be dug at Addolorata Cemetery. Their sale price still had to be determined and would be published in the Government Gazette.

An extension of the Addolorata has been muted for years. A 2,000 graves extension project was announced before the last election but in November 2009, then Social Policy Minister John Dalli revised the plans and said that a total of 9,000 new graves would be added in a three-year project that was to have seen a €33 million extension, paid for through the sale of the graves. The extension was to have been built on the same neo-gothic lines of the cemetery.

The project, however, had not taken off.

He had said that each new grave would be sold for €8,000 each, an increase of some €3,000 over then prices. Mr Dalli had defended the increase, saying it as in line with an improved service and a more respectful environment.

He also pointed out that because of the scarcity of private graves, some graves were being sold at even higher prices.

The extension was to have covered the back part of the cemetery all the way up to Sta Lucija Road.

There are thousands of pending applications for private graves.