Struggling state firm Dubai World is ready to use a special tribunal to force rebel lenders into line on plans to delay repayment of $14.4 billion in debts, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The source spoke ahead of a key meeting on Thursday for creditors of the once fast-growing Gulf Arab emirate, now labouring under more than $100 billion of debt including those of its flagship conglomerate.

'It's unlikely all 73 banks will accept terms which means it will likely go to a tribunal,' the source said, adding that if the majority support the plan, the tribunal can compell holdouts to get in line so the restructuring can proceed.

Dubai set up the special tribunal to be the arbiter of disputes between lenders and the stricken state company. More than 200 bankers were expected to arrive to discuss the restructuring plan, already agreed with core lenders representing 60 per cent of the loans.

Dubai World, whose activities group real estate development, ports and other activities, needs two-thirds acceptance to be able to take the deal to the tribunal.

The meeting was to be held in a lavish pink resort hotel built at the tip of a man-made palm-shaped island - one of the ambitious projects that left Dubai gasping for cash after the global real estate bubble burst in 2008.

Accountancy firm Deloitte's Aidan Birkett, who is overseeing the process, arrived for the meeting looking relaxed in an open necked shirt, but would not talk to reporters.

Early arrivals picked their way to the meeting through holidaymakers enjoying cut-price deals at the resort, which boasts a huge aquarium in one air-conditioned lobby where guests are protected from the searing summer heat outside.

The seven core group of banks has already agreed to reschedule repayment of loans due in the next few years into a five to eight year package paid at between one and 3.5 per cent.

Investors in the region are hoping the meeting, the first all-bank gathering since December, passes off without any negative publicity.

'All the news over the past couple of weeks has signalled Dubai World will reach a final resolution with banks, so that outcome is already priced in,' said Marwan Shurrab, vice-president and chief trader at Gulfmena Alternative Investments.

'But anything negative would likely see aggressive selling in the market,' he added.

Wealthy fellow United Arab Emirates member Abu Dhabi has already stepped in to bail out Dubai.

Dubai World has signalled that the terms presented in the May proposal are unlikely to fundamentally change on Thursday.

The seven member coordinating committee of banks comprises HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, and local lenders Emirates NBD and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.-Reuters