HÀ NỘI — The country’s biggest dairy corporation, Vinamilk, will provide milk for Hà Nội’s new school milk programme, the city Department of Education and Training announced on Tuesday.

The department’s deputy director Phạm Xuân Tiến told the press Vinamilk won the bidding at the price of VNĐ6,286 (27 US cents) per 180ml milk carton.

It was lower than the initial bidding offer of the authorities at VNĐ6,800.

In late September, Hà Nội announced it was planning to have its own school milk programme for kindergarten and primary school children starting in the 2018-19 school year as part of the greater goal of improving the physical strength and height of the city’s young generations.

School children will drink a carton of milk each day during their nine months of school – totally free if they are from poor families or of ethnic minorities. Students that do not qualify for free milk will have it half paid for by the city budget and the milk provider. The other half will be paid by their parents.

Hà Nội aims to have at least 90 per cent of targeted children participate in the programme, meaning Vinamilk will have to provide roughly one million cartons each day.

With the milk supplier chosen, the programme is due to officially start on January 1, 2019, according to Hà Nội People’s Committee deputy chairman Ngô Văn Quý.

The education department will finalise the contract with Vinamilk this month and finish training sessions for all schools and teachers regarding the implementation of the programme by December 12. — VNS