The morgue will be built at the back of the Mowbray Muslim Cemetery’s main administrative building.
The Mowbray Muslim Cemetery received City permission earlier this month to build a dedicated morgue at the site.
“These approvals included provisions for a washroom, a cold room and other elements,” said mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment Eddie Andrews.
Mowbray Muslim Cemetery Board member Ayub Mohamed said the morgue would have a single refrigeration room capable of storing six stacked bodies on specialised roller trays.
“Previously bodies were being stored at private funeral undertakers or at state mortuaries and hospitals,” he said, adding that the morgue would ease pressure at state facilities.
Muslim Judicial Council president Sheikh Riad Fataar said: “This will be a great benefit for the Muslim community.”
Mowbray Muslim Cemetery Board chairperson Faizal Sayed said they would get donor support for the facility, which was expected to cost about R2 million, and it should be finished within a year.
“The new morgue will allow families to receive a full cycle of service on the same property,” he said.