than Havana Bay, where a tunnel under the channel restricts depths to . The Mariel container terminal would have an annual capacity of 850,000 to 1 million containers, compared with Havana's 350,000. These developments should enable Mariel to accommodate the very large container ships which will transit from Asia through the Panama Canal once the enlargement of the latter is completed in the summer of 2014. Early June 2011 it was announced that the contract for the operation of the future new Port of Mariel container terminal had been awarded by the Cuban government to PSA International, a leading global Singaporean port operator. Earlier on, it had been reported that the Emirati operator DP World (Dubai Ports World) was the leading contender for this contract. Mariel is ideally situated to handle U.S. cargoes when the American trade embargo is eventually lifted, and will receive U.S. food exports already flowing into the country under a 2000 amendment to the US sanctions. If these technical and political developments occur, and if the Mariel container terminal are operationally and financially competitive, Mariel could become one of the major hub ports of the Caribbean region, competing against the existing hub ports of Freeport, Bahamas; Kingston, Jamaica; Multimodal Caucedo Port, Dominican Republic; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; and Panama, which receive very large container ships with cargo containers originating or bound to multiple regional origins and destinations, including US ports. The President of Cuba, Raul Castro, already made two visits to the Mariel development zone to inspect the progress of the works, including one visit in June 2011 together with the former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva under whom the agreement to support the development of Mariel had been reached. The new port, with improved highway, railroad, and communications infrastructure, began operating in January 2014. As of August 2014, the special economic zone was still under construction. Notable people Mariel Hemingway was named after this town. See also Mariel boatlift Mariel Municipal Museum Autopista Havana–Mariel Municipalities of Cuba List of cities in Cuba References External links Populated places in Artemisa Province Port cities and towns in Cuba