Vasp Wins Both Lots of the State's 2.3 Million Euro Contract to Keep Newspapers on Sale in Every Mainland Municipality

The Government has awarded both lots of its tender to keep newspapers and magazines on sale in every mainland municipality to Vasp, the country's only national press distributor. The three-year contract will cost the state about 2.29 million euros, or roughly 763,000 euros a year, according to a Government statement reported by ECO on Tuesday 20 October. The final jury report kept the preliminary ranking of 20 August.

What the state is paying for

The international public tender, launched on 2 June, set a base price of 3.08 million euros over three years. It was split into two regional lots:

• Lot 1, North and Centre: awarded for about 1.23 million euros, 30 percent below its base price of 1.76 million.
• Lot 2, Oeste and Vale do Tejo, Greater Lisbon, the Setúbal Peninsula, the Alentejo and the Algarve: awarded for 1.06 million euros, 20 percent below its base price.

Under the contract, Vasp must keep newspapers reaching at least one point of sale in every municipality, open at least 300 days a year. In the low-density municipalities of Lot 1 it has committed to a minimum of five points of sale in each. When it launched the tender in June, the Government said the support was designed for 96 low-density municipalities, where distribution costs are highest. The winner must also carry different publications on non-discriminatory terms and report monthly on sales, costs and points of sale.

The Government says the result is 78 percent below its original estimate of 3.5 million euros a year (10.5 million over three years), the figure the incumbent had pointed to. Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro said on Friday 16 October that the aim had been "to find the right price, not a rent being asked for", ECO reported.

How it got here

In December 2025 Vasp said it was considering cutting back daily deliveries in eight districts: Beja, Évora, Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Guarda, Viseu, Vila Real and Bragança. Local leaders demanded that the Government step in, Observador reported, citing Lusa. According to the Government, Vasp admitted in March 2026 that it had sent the ministry incomplete financial information that could distort the picture of the market, and apologised.

Only two companies bid: Vasp and Pergaminhoflash. After the preliminary ranking, Pergaminhoflash asked the jury to check specific sales points listed in Vasp's bid and later argued that Vasp should be excluded. The final report kept the ranking unchanged.

Meanwhile, three municipalities have been served under a stopgap. The Government's media unit, the Estrutura de Missão para a Comunicação Social (Portugal Media Lab), signed a direct-award contract with Vasp on 1 July for distribution in Alcoutim, Marvão and Freixo de Espada à Cinta. It runs for four months and is worth 19,344 euros plus VAT.

What it means for readers and newsagents

• Subscribers and buyers in the interior: the contract is the state's guarantee that printed papers keep reaching at least one shop in every mainland municipality for three years.
• Newsagents: the June plan included a second strand, support for points of sale in low-density areas through partnerships between Portugal Media Lab and the municipalities. In June the model was still being discussed with the national association of municipalities, ANMP.
• Start date: neither the Government statement as reported nor the procurement portal gave a start date. By Wednesday morning, no signed contract for the tender had been published on base.gov.pt.

The award comes in a hard year for print media. Four in five journalists have thought about quitting, and publishers are going to court over pirated newspaper PDFs shared on Telegram.