OTTAWA, Feb. 5, 2016 /CNW/ - Clearford Water Systems Inc. ("Clearford" or the "Company"), (TSXV: CLI), and the Essel Group Pvt. Ltd. (Essel) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to forge a strategic partnership to bring Clearford's proprietary all-in-one wastewater collection and treatment system (Clearford One™) to India.  The MOU was signed on February 5th as part of Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne's trade mission to India.

Essel is a leading Indian business conglomerate having diverse business presence across media, entertainment, packaging, infrastructure, education, precious metals and technology sectors.  "Essel is now pursuing the next level of growth. We are committed to adopt and develop new technologies to provide a wider range of offerings to our infrastructure clients" said Pankaj Thapliyal, President Smart Utilities Division of Essel Group.

Speaking about the signing, Ontario's Premier Kathleen Wynne said: "Clearford is a great example of an Ontario company providing a technological solution that contributes to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Prime Minister Modi's Clean India Mission". 

Premier Wynne is in Mumbai leading an Ontario business mission to India.

Under the terms of the two year non-exclusive agreement, Essel Infraprojects Ltd. and Clearford will work together to identify projects to joint bid Clearford's system for use in India. This will include assisting Clearford in identifying a village for a demonstration site and obtaining all necessary permissions, registrations, clearances and approvals to install Clearford One™ in India.

"We are looking forward to working with Essel Infraprojects in addressing the challenges many communities face with waste water collection and treatment throughout India, we believe Clearford One™ will make a significant contribution to addressing these challenges" said  Clearford's President & CEO Kevin Loiselle, speaking from Mumbai. "We have already identified a series of projects in the state of Rajasthan totalling over 100 crore rupees (CAD$20 million) and expect to submit joint proposals in the near future", continued Loiselle.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Clearford Water Systems Inc.
Clearford Water Systems Inc. (TSX-V: CLI) is a provider of unified water management and sanitation systems based on Clearford One™. Clearford One™ is a proprietary system comprised of ClearDigest™ smart digester, ClearConvey™ small bore sewer, and ClearRecover™ final treatment facility. For more information on Clearford Water Systems, please visit www.clearford.com.

About Essel Group Pvt. Ltd. 
For over three decades, Essel Group has been a leading business conglomerate having diverse business presence across media, entertainment, packaging, infrastructure, education, precious metals and technology sectors. Essel has created an impressive track record of value creation in all their businesses that compares well with their respective industry peers. The companies strive to bring the latest innovations and the best value offerings to all consumers in a quest to deliver the best in class. With worldwide operations and a workforce of over 8000 employees, Essel Group is growing in strength day by day.  Essel Infrastructure is engaged in construction of roads, power plants and urban infrastructure development and has built an impressive order book. For more information about Essel Group Pvt. Ltd, please visit www.esselgroup.com

Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements as they relate to the Company and its management.  Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but represent management's current expectation of future events, and can be identified by words such as "believe", "expects", "will", "intends", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "estimates", "continues" and similar expressions.  Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct.

By their nature, forward-looking statements include assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. If and when forward-looking statements are set out in this news release, Clearford will also set out the material risk factors or assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements. The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to: industry cyclicality; the ability to secure third party agreements; successful integration of Clearford's system with third party technology; competition; reduction in demand for products; collection from customers; relationships with suppliers; product liability; intellectual property; reliance on key personnel; environmental; interest rates; uninsured and underinsured losses; operating hazards; risks of future legal proceedings; income tax matters; credit facilities; availability and terms of financing; distribution of securities; restrictions on potential growth; effect of market interest rates on price of securities; and potential dilution.

SOURCE Clearford Water Systems Inc.