Dubai’s advanced infrastructure and high level of connectivity should help the emirate edge the competition as it steps up its bid to become the world’s largest international air hub by 2018, according to Emirates airline president Tim Clark.

Clark told global publishing, research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group that he was confident the airport could be adapted to accommodate the increased number of airliners that Emirates planned to bring in over the coming years.

“Dubai Airport’s SP2020 plan will enable capacity at Dubai International to rise from 60 million to 90 million passengers by 2018. The paramount advantage that Dubai must continue to leverage is its superior infrastructure,” he said.

He said that the government’s efforts to ensure transport networks were well coordinated would give the emirate an advantage over its rivals, even though the number of countries looking for a share of the global markets was rising.

“Not only have leaders successfully developed a highly efficient road network, a state-of-the-art port operation and a hugely successful airport, but they have also ensured a level of connectivity between each of these entities that is unrivalled anywhere in the world,” he said.

Dubai Airports chief executive officer Paul Griffiths agreed that Dubai’s ambitious expansion programme should pave the way for the emirate to increase its market share of passenger and cargo transhipment.

But he also stressed the criticality of safeguarding service in the face of growing competition.

“Other airports are being developed in the region with an eye on the same worldwide market,” he said, adding: “Keeping those two factors — size and service — in sync will be crucial for success.

Griffiths said that on the key challenge surrounding the expansion planned for Dubai International was how the site would accommodate the anticipated rise in passenger numbers.

“The increase is actually something that we can fairly well predict based on our track record and experience,” he said.

“What concerns me is balancing the scale of our build programme such that we will not only be able to accommodate the type of volume required, but at the same time ensure that we maintain and improve the quality of service. Given the confined space we have to work with it will be a challenge, but a challenge that we feel we have adequately addressed within our SP2020,” he added.

“While the scale of investment against the local market may seem very aggressive, actually, and within the context of the global market, it is relatively modest,” he said. “What we are doing is using Dubai as an attractive destination for tourism and commerce, as well as a global long-haul aviation hub.”

Griffiths also highlighted the move by both Emirates and flydubai to embark on significant fleet expansions, saying it was a sign of their commitment to the emirate’s development programme.

Despite the home-base carriers’ plans to boost aircraft numbers, Clark pointed out that globally, the airline industry still faced a number of major challenges, led by rising oil prices and the European Union’s carbon emissions trading system.

With fuel now representing about 42 per cent of an airline’s costs, he voiced concerns about the impact on the industry if oil prices continued to escalate. Clark also questioned how effective the emissions trading scheme would be in achieving its objective of reducing carbon emissions.