The Airport Authority may have to build another terminal in the next five years at Chek Lap Kok if it sustains a blistering rate of cargo growth.
A new terminal would make it the biggest air-cargo hub in the world by enabling it to overtake the airport in Memphis, Tennessee - the home of Federal Express - and to stay well ahead of those in Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo.
With the boom in air freight exceeding forecasts, the authority has been forced to rethink its original expansion plans.
Deputy chief executive Richard Siegel said the original design capacity of nine million tonnes at Chek Lap Kok's SuperTerminal One - drafted eight years ago - needed to be re-evaluated.
'Given the life of the airport and the economic potential of the region, I believe the figure of nine million tonnes could well be conservative,' he said.
At the present rate, SuperTerminal One would reach maximum design capacity in less than eight years.
