Homegrown real estate developer Merlin Group has set its sights on Maharashtra as a key market for the next phase of growth with a special focus on Pune and Navi Mumbai.

The group, one of the leading developers of Calcutta, hopes to be among the top three players in Pune and kick off a few projects in Navi Mumbai even as it completes 40 years of operations and looks for greener pastures to grow.

“Maharashtra is the biggest market for real estate in India. It makes sense for us to be there,” said Saket Mohta, managing director of Merlin.

The group, which claims to have 40 million square foot of projects delivered and under development, has four projects in Pune, which are spread among townships, commercial, residential and mixed use. Mohta said it would like to build on the foundation in Pune and venture out to Navi Mumbai, which is getting an infrastructure upgrade.

“We are looking at a 3-5 acres land parcel in Navi Mumbai. It could be a joint venture with the land owner. However, when it comes to project development and marketing, Merlin would like to go alone and not in a consortium,” Mohta explained, adding that Pune has given him confidence to expand further in Maharashtra.

While Bengal and Calcutta, the home markets for Merlin, continue to be the majordrivers of the business, the group will also be present in Chennai and Bhubaneswar.

However, it has decided to exit two markets, Ahmedabad and Raipur, where it had executed a few projects, citing non compatibility with the eco-system of those micro markets.

The group, which unveiled a new logo on Monday, plans to develop another 20 million square feet over the next 7-8 years, of which 15 million square foot is in Bengal alone. It has a turnover of ₹1,500 crore, which may go up to ₹2,600 crore by end of the decade.

Apart from residential, which will be the mainstay of the business, Mohta said Merlin would also build start hotels and malls.

“We would want to build a new mall in north Calcutta and a township in Sodepur. Merlin will also develop a five-star hotel in the World Trade Centre, which is coming up in sector V,” he explained.