MADRID (AFP) – Spain will ditch a plan to privatize airports and come up with a new management model, the new Transport Minister Ana Pastor said.

''Current market conditions are clearly unfavorable,'' Pastor noted during a press conference in Madrid.

Given gloomy economic conditions, especially in Europe, there was little chance of attracting a large number of bids for the airports, the transport minister acknowledged.

That would in turn cut the chances of getting strong offers.

The previous Spanish government sought last year to sell 90.05 percent of the shares in airports in Madrid and Barcelona, aiming to raise 5.3 billion euros ($6.9 billion).

The mooted plan also included the sale of a 49 percent stake in the airport management group Aena, but was abandoned as legislative elections approached on November 20.

Groups that had expressed interest in the sale included the Spanish company Ferrovial, which owns the British airport operator BAA, in addition to European rivals Aeroports de Paris (ADP) and Frankfurt-based Fraport.