Since the opening of the city crematorium in Almaty at the end of April this year, six cremations have been conducted, reports infohub.kz, citing the Almaty Public Health Department.
In response to an official inquiry, the department stated that the crematorium is fully equipped with the necessary engineering infrastructure, specialized equipment, and qualified personnel.
Earlier, it was reported that a columbarium could be built to store urns with ashes. However, the department now notes that issues regarding the construction of a columbarium, its timeline, and financing are outside their competence. Nevertheless, the absence of a columbarium does not hinder the release of ashes to relatives.
"The crematorium and columbarium are independent elements of funeral infrastructure. The crematorium is a technological complex designed for conducting the cremation procedure. The absence of a columbarium does not prevent the release of ashes to relatives, as legislation allows alternative methods of burying an urn with ashes, including burial in a cemetery," the response explained.
The department also addressed the possibility of cremating pets. Technically, the equipment allows such procedures, but for ethical reasons and principles of respectful treatment of the memory of the deceased, animal cremation is not carried out at the Almaty crematorium. "The facility is intended exclusively for the cremation of human bodies," the department concluded.
It is worth recalling that the construction of the crematorium began in the summer of 2020. Initially, it was planned to be completed at the end of 2021, but the deadlines were repeatedly postponed: to May 2022, then to the second quarter of 2023. The official launch took place only on April 30, 2026.