Cox’s Bazar–Teknaf Marine Drive () is an 80-kilometre-long road from
Cox’s Bazar to
Teknaf
Teknaf () is a municipality of Teknaf Upazila of Cox's Bazar District in south-eastern Bangladesh. It forms the southernmost point in mainland Bangladesh ( St. Martin's Island is the southernmost point).
The name of the region comes from the Naf ...
along the Bay of Bengal and it is the world’s longest marine drive. It was inaugurated on 6 May 2017, by Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...
.
[
]
History
This road was first planned to be constructed in 1989. In 1993, the then government finalized the 48 km long marine drive project for construction. However, after the completion of the construction of a few kilometers, its work was terminated and later the incomplete road was washed away by the strong currents of the Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region.
Many South Asian and Southe ...
. Its construction resumed in 1995, when the Bangladesh Army
The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...
was tasked with its construction. Construction work started for the second time in 2008 after the work was stopped for a few years. Construction of the road from Kolatoli to Inani was completed by 2015.[ As of December 2016, 60% of the first and second phase has been constructed. This road built at a cost of was inaugurated on 5 May 2017.]Executive Committee of the National Economic Council
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) (Bangladesh) is an executive committee under the Cabinet Division of the Government of Bangladesh, which verifies, imports, approves and advances nationally important development p ...
(ECNEC) approved the widening project of the road. At least ten parts of the road were damaged by a storm in August 2023 and at one point part of the road disappeared into the sea.
Tourism
On 26 June 2018, the road was declared as preserved tourist zone by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism. Since 2020, a bus operated by Caravan Services has been providing regular transport services for tourists on this road.
Gallery
File:Cox Bazar Marine Drive 2.JPG
File:Cox's bazar marine drive-5.JPG
File:Cox's bazar marine drive-6.JPG
File:Cox's Bazar–Tekhnaf Marine Drive (10).jpg
File:Cox's Bazar–Tekhnaf Marine Drive (11).jpg
File:Cox's Bazar–Tekhnaf Marine Drive (12).jpg
File:Cox's Bazar–Tekhnaf Marine Drive (7).jpg
File:Kolatoli Marine Drive.jpg
File:Marine drive near Lengurbill.jpg
File:Marine drive, Cox's Bazar.jpg
See also
* Cox's Bazar Beach
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox's Bazar-Tekhnaf Marine Drive
Waterfronts
Marine drive
Cox's Bazar District
Teknaf Upazila
Tourist attractions in Cox's Bazar
Z1098
2017 establishments in Bangladesh