Mah Sing Group Bhd has teamed up with EduCity Iskandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd (EduCity), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iskandar Investment Sdn Bhd, to provide student accommodation at Phase 2 of Mah Sing's Meridin@Medini Executive Suites in Iskandar Puteri, Johor.

Mah Sing today inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Educity to offer 183 fully-furnished apartment units, which would cater to 370 students, out of the 583 available units.

Mah Sing chief executive officer Datuk Ho Hon Sang said the Meridin@Medini project is located about 3.6km from EduCity and will be the first external student accommodation provider for Iskandar Malaysia's education hub.

"EduCity is providing world-class education for Malaysians and students in the Southeast Asian region and we (Mah Sing) want to do our part by providing these students with fully-furnished homes during their education journey.

"We will provide first-class facilities to the students who study at Educity with the starting price from RM850 per month per student. We will also provide two-way bus shuttle services between Meridin@Medini and EduCity for students staying at our development" he told a press conference after the signing of the MoU.

Ho said the partnership with EduCity is an on-going one because there is continuous inflow of students to study at the education hub.

"It is as far as a moon and stars, there is no timeline to end the partnership" he quipped.

Phase 2 of Meridin@Medini features Meridin Executive Suites, Meridin Walk Lifestyle Mall and two blocks of hotel suites namely Ramada Meridin and Ramada Encore Meridin.

The project has seen a take-up rate of 60% and the group targets to hand over the keys to purchasers by the first quarter of 2018.

Ho said students have the option of choosing a studio unit or twin-sharing studio unit, which have built-up spaces ranging from 341 sq ft to 603 sq ft.

The units come with induction cooker, heated shower, air conditioner, lightings, mattress, wardrobe, study tables, chairs as well as fridge.

Meanwhile, EduCity chairman Datuk Ir Khairil Anwar Ahmad said the partnership between EduCity and Mah Sing would provide more options for students to consider as accommodation is the crucial aspect of their daily life.

"We are giving another opportunity and option for the students to consider although we encourage students to stay within the campus in their first and second year because some students they prefer more privacy and choose to stay further from campus" he added.

Khairil, who is also the chief executive officer of Iskandar Investment, said EduCity is enhancing and improving various facilities for the 3,000 students currently.

EduCity comprises universities and institutions of higher education, research and development centres, accommodation and recreational facilities.

Among the institutions located at EduCity are Raffles University Iskandar, University of Southampton, Netherlands Maritime Institute of Technology, Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia and Management Development Institute of Singapore.

"Working with reputable partner (Mah Sing) will continue to boost the appeal of EduCity" he said.