Palma Town Hall, alarmed at the prospect of the city's five news kiosks closing at the end of September, is looking for a solution that they will allow them to remain open. There is to be a meeting with the owners of the concession holder, Kemfactory, who earlier this week announced that the kiosks would be closing due to financial losses.
The town hall is critical of the company and believes it is responsible for the financial situation. A proper cost study, the town hall argues, was not conducted when Kemfactory submitted its bid to manage the newsstands.
This was remarkably high, much higher than the specifications. Four companies submitted bids when the kiosks' management was put out to tender. The town hall's minimum annual requirement was €21,000. Kemfactory's bid was almost four times as much as this - €80,000. Two other bids were €57,000 and €51,000, and the fourth was just under €23,000.
As yet, the town hall has still not received official confirmation of the announced closure. A meeting is nevertheless planned, the town hall noting that contractors can be subject to penalties in the event of contractual non-compliance.
The possibility of having to go through another tender process is something the town hall wants to avoid.