Updated

The head of the Panama Canal says there may be a solution in sight to the $1.6 billion dispute that threatened to halt work on the canal's expansion.

Administrator Jorge Luis Quijano said Tuesday that the consortium expanding the canal has proposed a resolution "with some potential" to resolve the dispute. He offered no details and the consortium known as United for the Canal made no immediate comment.

The two sides and the authority's insurer met Tuesday to negotiate who will pay for cost overruns that led the Spanish-led consortium to threaten to halt work on the third set of locks that would allow far larger ships to pass through the canal.

Quijano says the proposal "could provide a long-term solution and move the project forward."