Drydocks World (DDW), a unit of debt-ridden Dubai World, expects talks on terms of its core debt to be concluded with months, after agreeing a new $200 million credit facility, an official statement said.

The shipbuilding arm of Dubai World said last year it was in talks with banks to restructure $1.7 billion in debt maturing in November 2011.

Dubai World, the emirate's flagship conglomerate which has restructured $25 billion in debt, has said Drydocks World was not included in its restructuring as the ship and rig builder had sufficient financial capacity to service its own debt.

'DDW is about to enter into discussions with representatives of its lenders to amend the terms of its core syndicated debt facility as well as for the provision of new long term working capital facilities,' the Dubai government statement said on Saturday.

'This process is likely to be concluded in the coming months,' it added. 

'The ($200 million) is available for drawing to provide working capital instruments (for example, refund guarantees and performance bonds) to DDW's trading counterparties in relation to new and existing contracts,' the statement said.

'This facility is an important demonstration of the ongoing support for Drydocks World from our key banks. It will enable the company to continue to provide high quality services to its customers from its yards in Dubai, Singapore and Indonesia,' DDW chairman Khamis Juma Buamim said in the statement.

Drydocks had signed a $2.2 billion loan in October 2008, involving 15 lenders-Reuters