Greece to retender construction projects -official

ATHENS Nov 9 (Reuters) - Greece plans to relaunch tenders for two major construction projects to expand an Athens tollway and build an airport by the middle of next year, a senior infrastructure ministry official told Reuters on Monday.

The previous government had tendered new motorways worth 1.8 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in the greater Athens area and a 1 billion airport in Kasteli, Crete.

But the official said new tenders were necessary to shield the projects from any appeals by local mayors and environmentalists.

"We hope we will have launched new tenders within the summer next year," the senior official who declined to be named told Reuters.

"We believe in the projects and they will be implemented but we have to clear them from a few problems, so that they are not blocked," the official added. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Dan Lalor) ($1 = 0.6678 euro)