Construction and upgrading of the multi-million dollar Skeleton Coast National Park are progressing well ahead of the festive season.

Kunene Governor Marius Sheya says the skeleton coast upgrade is expected to attract more tourism activities to the area.

For years, the entry and exit gates to this park were in a dilapidated state, with no proper accommodation facilities, offices, or housing units for staff members.

New offices and a workshop are now being set up for both the police and staff of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

Housing units with proper sanitation are also nearing completion. The area is to be powered by solar energy.

"The government, together with its developmental partners, felt that it was necessary to start upgrading the infrastructure and putting up proper infrastructure in terms of the receiving of visitors to this area because, during the festive season like now, it's quite a popular place for people who go there for fishing, camping, and holiday purposes, but equally for the decent living conditions of the employees of the different ministries that are managing and taking care of this park".

Sheya added that similar upgrades are also taking shape at Mowe Bay and the Ugabmund Gate in the south, which borders the Erongo region.

The park, found in the oldest desert, measures about 500 kilometres from the Ugab River in the south to the Kunene River Mouth in the north.

The desolate park, proclaimed in 1971, is home to the world's largest ship graveyard, whale skeletons, and desert-adapted wildlife.