Understanding the Sossusvlei Concession

What a Tourism Concession Is

A tourism concession is a legally defined right granted by government to undertake specified activities within a protected area under controlled conditions and for a defined period. It is a formal mechanism used to regulate operations, protect sensitive environments, and create structured economic benefit through a recognised contractual framework.

In Namibia, concessions on state land and within protected areas are issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism under the legal and policy framework governing tourism and conservation concessions. Within that framework, a concession may be structured as full, restricted, shared, exclusive or non-exclusive, depending on the activity and the operational model required for the site.

The Farm Arbeid Adelt Campsite and Sossusvlei access concession forms part of that system. It is a government concession within the Namib-Naukluft National Park and is intended to support conservation, regulated visitor access, structured investment and community benefit over time.

"A concession is a formal instrument of regulated access and long-term responsibility."

How the Tender Process Worked

The concession was introduced through a public tender process. The public advertisement announced the opportunity and invited interested parties to register in order to participate.

As is standard in formal tendering, the public advertisement itself did not contain the full legal, technical and commercial scope of the project. Interested parties were required to register, after which the full Request for Proposal was issued to registered bidders. That RFP contained the concession structure, project details, rights, obligations, evaluation criteria, timelines and draft contractual framework.

Bids were then prepared and submitted on the basis of that full RFP. The process included bidder registration, a compulsory briefing session, a mandatory site visit, proposal submission, evaluation, bidder notification, a 14-business-day appeal period, and conclusion of the concession contract thereafter.

This sequence matters. The advertisement initiated the process. The RFP defined the scope. The award and agreement followed that same framework.

To be clear: the concessionaire did not request this tender. The concessionaire did not design this tender. The concessionaire did not write this tender. The process was initiated and structured by government, and all registered bidders received the same information, the same briefing, the same site visit, and the same RFP on which to base their proposals.

The Concession Framework

The RFP defined three core components of the concession:

These rights were not added later, and they were not privately introduced after award. They formed part of the tender framework issued to registered bidders and were then reflected in the concession agreement concluded on that basis.

What is being implemented is therefore not a newly created concession, but the operational commencement of the concession framework in the form in which it was originally structured, tendered and awarded.

What "Exclusive" and "Non-Exclusive" Mean Here

One of the most misunderstood aspects of the concession is the use of the words "exclusive" and "non-exclusive".

Under the project details issued in the RFP, the concessionaire is the operator authorised to shuttle visitors in the regulated off-road Deadvlei access area and to control access into that area. At the same time, the framework also provides that qualified tour guides employed by Namibia Tourism Board-registered lodges, transporting their own lodge clients, may continue to drive to Deadvlei. No other operator may shuttle tourists to Deadvlei.

For that reason, the arrangement is non-exclusive in a limited and defined sense. It does not mean unrestricted access for all operators. It means that lodge-based guest movements were specifically accommodated within an otherwise regulated access structure.

In practical terms, the model combines regulated shuttle access, controlled off-road entry, and a defined operational exception for NTB-registered lodge-employed guides transporting their own guests.

Why We Refer to the Service as Both a Shuttle and an Excursion

Under the concession framework, the awarded operational right is the shuttle service between the Sossusvlei 2x4 parking area and the Deadvlei access area.

At the same time, we also describe the service as a 4x4 excursion, because in practical visitor terms it is more than a basic point-to-point transfer. It is a managed off-road access experience through a sensitive protected landscape, delivered under concession control and as part of a broader site-management model.

This distinction does not alter the legal nature of the concession right. The awarded right remains the shuttle service right contained in the tender framework and concession agreement. The use of the word excursion simply reflects the way the service is presented and experienced operationally.

Why Access Is Structured

Sossusvlei and Deadvlei are part of one of Namibia's most sensitive and internationally recognised protected landscapes. Structured access is not simply a transport question; it is a site management question.

The concession framework was designed around regulated visitor movement, controlled access to the off-road area, infrastructure responsibility, and the longer-term rehabilitation, maintenance and service obligations linked to the concession. The RFP also required bidders to address environmental impact, roads and tracks, operating impacts, infrastructure, and community commitments as part of the proposal structure.

The access arrangement therefore sits within a broader model of management, conservation, investment and accountability — not as an isolated shuttle privilege, but as part of a wider concession responsibility.

"Access control is part of site management, not separate from it."

Community Benefit and Long-Term Upliftment

The concession was also designed as a community-benefit structure.

Under the RFP, the concession fee is linked to annual net turnover, not merely to discretionary profit distribution, and seventy-five percent of the total annual concession fee is allocated to the !Karkhoen and Maltahohe communities through the Hardap Regional Council, with the remaining twenty-five percent payable to government.

In addition, the RFP required a comprehensive Corporate Social Plan, including employment, skills development, local procurement, entrepreneurial support and broader social investment commitments. Those community-focused commitments were intended to form part of the concession framework from the outset.

The wider social plan presented for the project was aimed not only at financial benefit, but at long-term community participation, development and upliftment over the life of the concession. Earlier explanatory materials described this as a structured departure from prior arrangements in which benefits accrued only to the operator rather than to surrounding communities.

Role of the Concessionaire

About Adelt Sossusvlei Concession Management (Pty) Ltd is the concessionaire appointed through the tender process to implement the concession as awarded.

The company did not draft the tender, determine the concession policy, or define the original government framework. Its role is to implement the concession in accordance with the process, the RFP, the signed agreement, and the legal and environmental requirements applicable to the project.

That includes operational responsibility, infrastructure responsibility, financing of development and maintenance within the concession area, environmental compliance, and participation in the joint management framework required for implementation.

Implementation and Current Status

The concession is now entering implementation in the form in which it was originally structured and awarded.

The Ministry's public notice of April 2026 confirms that only the concessionaire and NTB-registered lodge guides transporting their own lodge guests are authorised to operate between the Sossusvlei 2x4 parking area and the 4x4 parking area, and that self-driving beyond the 2x4 parking area is not permitted. This reflects the same operational structure already set out in the tender framework.

In that sense, the current stage is not the creation of a new right, but the implementation of an existing one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Documents and References

The following documents have been made publicly available by the concessionaire: