The government has sold the operational rights of an international airport in the central part of Korea to a private consortium for 25.5 billion won ($22.6 million), officials said Tuesday.

The consortium will take over operational control of Cheongju International Airport, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, late this year after completing the necessary administrative process, the finance and transportation ministries said.

The consortium, named the Cheongju Airport Group, is made up of Korea Aviation Consulting Group, Heungkuk Life Insurance and ADC & HAS, a U.S.-Canada based airport privatization firm.

The deal marks the first time that the government has sold an airport to a private operator and could lead to similar deals down the road.

Under the contract between the state-run Korea Airports Corp., which currently runs 15 airports in the country, CAG will exercise its management rights for 30 years and be allowed to make changes that could help fuel competitiveness of the airport.

“The sale only gives the consortium operational rights with the government and the KAC retaining ownership of all airport facilities, including the runway,” the finance ministry said in a press release.

The government is obliged to expand infrastructure as the runway, ramp and passenger terminal if the need arises with private operators responsible for commercial facilities, it added.

Seoul has revised related laws to permit private companies to operate airports.

Cheongju airport opened in 1997 to serve passengers in the central part of South Korea. It has two 2,744-meter-long runways and can handle up to 140,000 flights per year. It serviced 9,082 flights in 2011.

It also handled 1.18 million domestic and 150,000 international passengers, and posted a deficit of 5.4 billion won last year. 

(Yonhap News)