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| Spain's Ciudad Real airport sold at auction for €10,000 | Spain's Ciudad Real airport sold at auction for €10,000 |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A group of international investors has won a bankruptcy auction for an abandoned airport in central Spain with a €10,000 (£7,000) offer - 100,000 times less than it cost to build. | A group of international investors has won a bankruptcy auction for an abandoned airport in central Spain with a €10,000 (£7,000) offer - 100,000 times less than it cost to build. |
| The investors were the only bidders for Ciudad Real airport, south of Madrid, completed during Spain's boom years. | The investors were the only bidders for Ciudad Real airport, south of Madrid, completed during Spain's boom years. |
| But it is not clear if the sale will go ahead as another buyer could still step forward outside of the auction process. | But it is not clear if the sale will go ahead as another buyer could still step forward outside of the auction process. |
| The winning bid was made by a Chinese-led consortium of investors. | The winning bid was made by a Chinese-led consortium of investors. |
| The group, Tzaneen International, says it wants to make the airport an entry point into Europe for Chinese companies. | The group, Tzaneen International, says it wants to make the airport an entry point into Europe for Chinese companies. |
| The white elephants that dragged Spain into the red | |
| Minimum price | Minimum price |
| Ciudad Real airport, located 235km (146 miles) south of Madrid, was meant to be an alternative to Madrid's Barajas airport. | Ciudad Real airport, located 235km (146 miles) south of Madrid, was meant to be an alternative to Madrid's Barajas airport. |
| It cost more than €1bn to built. It opened in 2008 but went bankrupt and closed in 2012. | It cost more than €1bn to built. It opened in 2008 but went bankrupt and closed in 2012. |
| There is still a possibility that another buyer could meet the minimum price of €28m set by the receiver for the sale to go through before the end of September. | There is still a possibility that another buyer could meet the minimum price of €28m set by the receiver for the sale to go through before the end of September. |
| The central Spanish airport has a capacity for 2.5 million passengers per year. | The central Spanish airport has a capacity for 2.5 million passengers per year. |
| It is one of a number of "ghost airports" constructed during Spain's building boom that did not attract enough passengers. | It is one of a number of "ghost airports" constructed during Spain's building boom that did not attract enough passengers. |
| A similar fate has befallen Castellon airport in the east. It opened in 2011 but has not received a single flight. | A similar fate has befallen Castellon airport in the east. It opened in 2011 but has not received a single flight. |