Telecom company Hutch-Essar on Tuesday said it is planning to invest about Rs 1,656 crore ($360 million) this year for expansion of its network and building capacity.

"Hutch Essar is planning to invest about $360 million during the calendar year, to be utilised towards network expansion, building capacity, installing value added services and revamping our IT systems," Asim Ghosh, managing director of Hutch Essar Telecom told PTI in New Delhi.

The network expansion would be undertaken in the circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan and Haryana.

"The investment is coming by way of internal cash flow in the joint venture and balance is funded from debt," Ghosh said.

Elaborating on capacity expansion, Ghosh said last year the capacity was pegged at 2.2 million subscribers, and was expected to reach 5.2 million users by the end of this year.

"The investment process has started and has been part executed...this investment amount is earmarked for the calendar year," he said.