Empty check-in desks at the new central airport in Ciudad Real, one of several 'ghost airports' in Spain.
Madrid - A commercial court however said the offer by the group Tzaneen International for Ciudad Real Central Airport was too low, even though it was the only bidder.
Published: Sun 19 Jul 2015, 12:00 AM
Updated: Mon 20 Jul 2015, 8:35 AM
A group of Asian and British investors angled to snap up a disused airport in Spain for ?10,000 ($11,000), aiming to make it an import hub for Chinese goods.
A commercial court however said the offer by the group Tzaneen International for Ciudad Real Central Airport was too low, even though it was the only bidder.
Tzaneen was set up in Spain by British, Chinese and other Asian investors to buy the airport around 200km (124 miles) south of Madrid.
A spokesman for Tzaneen said it had offered ?10,000 to buy the site.
In a statement the group added that it would invest up to ?100 million to turn Ciudad Real into a "logistical hub" for Chinese imported goods.
The commercial court in Ciudad Real has set ?40 million as the minimum price for the airport, which is estimated to have cost about a billion euros to build.
It is one of several so-called "ghost airports" in Spain, built during a construction frenzy that went bust in 2008, dragging the country into economic crisis.
When it first started operating flights in 2008 its promoters were hoping to attract airlines to run low-cost flights for foreigners heading to Madrid.
But it was scuppered by an extension to Madrid's main Barajas Airport, which absorbed all the extra demand. Ciudad Real went bust with ?300 million in debts and has been idle since 2011.
A spokeswoman for the court told AFP that since Tzaneen's offer was less than 70 per cent of the minimum price, a judge ordered that the bidding period be extended in the hope of finding a higher offer.
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