ONLY one bidder has come forward with a view to buying the never-used airport in Ciudad Real, in the southern part of the central region of Castilla-La Mancha - and has offered just €10,000.
A company set up in Madrid in March, comprising several Chinese firms under one umbrella, is considering buying the terminal to use as a point of entry to Spain for its merchandise.
Tzaneen International will become the official owner of the €450-million airport, which has been in receivership since 2010, if nobody comes up with an offer meeting or exceeding the reserve price of €28m within the next three weeks.
The firm, which started up with a capital of just €4,000, was the only bidder in a public auction where the terminal was up for sale at 70% of its original price of €40m and, if it is successful, will be handed the 'keys' to the car park, unfinished runway which leads to the railway line, and all other buildings and facilities necessary for its functioning as an airport.
But the sale does not include the extra land required to form part of the deal in accordance with legal requirements on environmental impact.
Ciudad Real airport has in fact been used, but only for test runs and never for commercial use - although this still means it cannot be listed as 'brand-new' and has to be sold as a 'second-hand' installation.
Another firm, Griffin-Pegasus Airports, has expressed an interest in acquiring the terminal but plans to attempt to have the auction declared null and void due to 'errors of format' in the way it was conducted.
And even the company which owns the complex, Ciudad Real International Airport, S.L., wants to appeal against the manner in which the auction was carried out.
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