A $300 million container terminal project by DP World Ltd. at the port of Mariel continues to be on the table, despite recent news about financial troubles of the investor’s parent company.

In late November, news broke that the government of Dubai asked Dubai World creditors to postpone payment of $3.5 billion of the holding company’s $59 billion debt by six months; on Nov. 23, the state-owned holding company announced a debt restructuring.

At the time, DP World Ltd. — one of 10 subsidiaries of Dubai World — said in a press release that its debt was not included in the restructuring. DPW has been in on-off negotiations with Cuba about construction of the terminal since 2007. A high-ranking delegation from the United Arab Emirates, to which Dubai belongs, toured the site in October.

“This was not a surprise to the Dubai people; the actual debt levels are obviously well known,” an observer close to the Mariel negotiations said about the Dubai World troubles. “As I understand, this project was one of the few that had escaped the chop in a review several months ago of DPW global expansion.”

In October, DPW’s chief financial officer moved up to become CFO of parent company Dubai World. In early December, neighboring Abu Dhabi bailed out the holding with a $10 billion injection. Observers believe a restructuring, including the sale of subsidiaries, is ahead.

DP World is one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world, with 49 terminals and 12 new developments in 31 countries.

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