Edku

Edku (Arabic: إدكو) (also Edkhou or Idku) is a town in the Beheira Governorate, located east of Alexandria and west of Rashid, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Edku lies on a sandy strip behind Abi Qir Bay, in the northwestern Nile River delta. Immediately south is Lake Idku, a 58-square-mile (150-square-km) lagoon that stretches some 22 miles (35 km) behind and parallel to the coast and has a maximum width of 16 miles (26 km). Drained by Al-Madiyyah Channel, connecting with the Mediterranean, the lagoon is reputed to be the ancient Canopic branch of the Nile. Edku's isthmus position enables it to capitalize on the fisheries of both the lagoon and the Mediterranean. Other industries include rice milling and silk weaving. Edku is linked by coastal road and railway to Alexandria, 26 miles (42 km) to the west-southwest, and Rosetta (Rashid ), 12 miles (19 km) northeast. Just northeast of the town lies a large natural gas liquefaction (LNG) plant jointly owned by Shell and Petronas. The plant complex opened in 2005 and consists of two LNG trains capable of liquifying up to a total of 7.2 million tons of natural gas per year. It is one of two LNG export plants in Egypt (the other being the SEGAS LNG plant in Damietta).