Malta’s main cemetery, the Maria Addolorata in Paola, is to come under private management and will also be extended by 2,900 graves.

A call for tenders will be issued to cover both measures under a government policy to tackle the growing shortage of burial space.

A spokesman for the Health Ministry said the winning bidder, who will take over the management of the Addolorata, will have the choice to issue a call for the construction and management of a crematorium.

The cemetery will remain the property of the government, which will also retain control over the price of graves.

The introduction of cremation has long been discussed as a solution to the shortage of graves. Currently, cremation is not regulated by law since there are no crematoriums. However, bodies that were cremated abroad have been allowed a normal burial in Malta.

Over the past years the government has been looking at ways to solve the shortage of burial space and come up with various proposals to extend the cemetery.

In 2006 former Health Minister Louis Deguara announced that some 2,782 graves were going to be developed but the project did not materialise. Three years later, his successor, John Dalli, announced an extension of 9,000 graves but this proposal did not come to fruition either.

Speaking in Parliament last week, Health Minister Joseph Cassar confirmed that the real cost of a new grave (which is currently just over €3,000) was €8,000 and this would be reflected in amendments to the price order regulating the price of graves at the Addolorata.

There are 15,537 graves at the Addolorata including 14,329 privately owned graves and 1,209 common ones. Until May this year there were 4,029 pending applications to buy graves there. Some applications have been pending for over a decade.