Essar Steel Ltd plans to invest Rs 600-700 crore to hike its production capacity of hot rolled coils by 29.5 per cent to 2.5 million tonne during this financial year. The company would also boost its sponge iron capacity by 30 per cent to 3 million tonne by July this year, P R Dhariwal, director (commercial), Essar Steel, said. The company also expects to start captive mining of iron ore in Chhattisgarh and Orissa this year after receiving the nod from the two state governments, Dhariwal said at the sidelines of a press conference here today.

The expansion, would, however, be subject to approval from the financial institutions as part of a restructuring exercise.

He said the company was awaiting a nod from the financial institutions before undertaking the expansion. As per the corporate debt restructuring plan, the company had committed that it would not undertake fresh investments for a fixed period of time.

"There is a restriction. We have already requested the FIs. The capacity expansion should happen," Dhariwal said.