Less than a year after it opened its doors in Canal Number One, the Al-Aziz Splash Inc fruit juice factory was completely destroyed last night in what is believed to be an arson attack.
Stabroek News understands that the factory, located at Lot 13, L’Esperance, Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara, went up in flames at around 11 pm last night.
According to reports the lone security guard on duty related that three men attempted to rob the factory and later doused the place with kerosene before setting it ablaze. The guard said that the men entered the compound and tied him up before going into the building and later he smelt kerosene before he saw flames. The man also stated that kerosene was also thrown on him and he was set ablaze.
“He say that he roll on the ground and out the fire and he start hollering for people. Residents went and break down the front gate and went inside,” a resident of the area told this newspaper this morning.
According to the resident, the guard suffered “a small burn to his back” and he was taken to the hospital by the police and is now in custody at the La Grange Police Station. The resident also said that the owner of the factor, Naeem Aziz, turned up on the scene and indicated that nothing is usually left at the factory that could be stolen.
It was last year July the factory opened its door and Aziz, who had returned to Guyana from Barbados recently to invest in the project, had said at the time that the new facility, which had dozen persons in its employ, would have seen some 50 persons being offered employment opportunities by October of last year.
The owner had told Stabroek News during a tour of the factory that his love for making juices inspired him to develop ideas he had over the years.
A qualified civil engineer, Aziz said the entire operation, worth several million Guyana dollars, was set up by him in March this year, noting that he was provided with support by the authorities, particularly Go-Invest and the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (New GMC).
He had said that he was already eyeing the overseas market, particularly Barbados.
The facility, which was equipped with a well, mixers and a moulding plant to bottle the products, operated thrice-weekly based on the supply of fresh fruits.
