The Hokkaido Prefectural Government is pondering a sale of the rights to operate the nation's fourth-busiest publicly run airport, sources said.

Proceeds from the sale of the New Chitose Airport concession could top ¥100 billion according to one of the sources, who asked to remain anonymous as the deliberations have yet to be made public.

The prefectural government plans to hold further internal discussions before making a final decision on whether to proceed with a sale, the sources said.

Hokkaido has benefited from a surge in tourism from China, Taiwan and South Korea.

Three other government-run airports are already undergoing privatization via concession sales as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive to cut public spending, curb national debt and promote deregulation.

New Chitose Airport, located outside Sapporo, handled 18.7 million passengers in 2013, ranking it fourth among the nation's 28 government-controlled airports, according to data compiled by the transport ministry.

Tokyo's Haneda airport is currently the largest, with 68.7 million travelers having passed through last year.

The number of nights spent by foreign visitors in Hokkaido surged 52 percent to 3.1 million in 2013 from a year earlier — the third-biggest number among the 47 prefectures, according to data compiled by the Japan Tourism Agency.

Government-owned New Kansai International Airport Co. is working with the brokerage unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. to sell rights to operate two airports in Osaka. An auction of a 30-year concession for Sendai Airport is also scheduled to begin this year, according to documents released in November by the transport ministry.

New Chitose Airport generated ¥9.2 billion of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the financial year ended March 31, 2012, according to the latest report compiled by the transport ministry.