One of Spain's "ghost airports" - expensive projects that were virtually unused - received just one bid in a bankruptcy auction after costing some 1.1 billion euros ($A1.62 billion) to build. The buyer's offer: 10,000 euros ($A14,689).

Ciudad Real's Central airport, about 235 kilometres south of Madrid, became a symbol of the country's wasteful spending during a construction boom that ended with the financial crisis of 2008, the year the airport opened.

The operator of the airport went bankrupt in 2012 after it failed to draw enough traffic.

Spanish news agency Europa Press said Chinese group Tzaneen International tabled the bid in Friday's auction. The receiver had set a minimum price of 28 million euros. If no better bid is received by September, the sale will go through.