The AA has laid the foundations for the HKIA to become the logistics and multimodal transport hub of Asia with such initiatives as the Marine Cargo Terminal and Tradeport Hong Kong Ltd. In August 2001, the AA entered into formal agreement with Chu Kong Air-Sea Union Transportation Co. Ltd. (CKSA), a subsidiary of Chu Kong Shipping Enterprises (Holdings) Co. Ltd., who holds the initial five year licence. The Marine Cargo Terminal was formally opened at the end of March with an annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes and cater to vessels up to 50 metres long with draughts of 2.7 metres. With the Marine Cargo Terminal fully operational, HKIA now provides seamless links between air, sea and road.

In February 2001, the Airport Authority signed a development agreement with Tradeport Hong Kong Ltd, an international consortium that will design, construct, operate and manage the logistics centre on a 1.38-hectare site in the South Commercial District of the airport island. Initially the building will have three floors with a total gross floor area of 28,200 sqm, but the developers have the option to add another floor, bringing the total gross floor area to 41,400 sqm. Capital investment for building and equipment will be HK$530mn. The lease is for 25 years plus two years for construction. Tradeport dovetails with other strategic developments at the airport, including the two cargo terminals, Hactl and AAT as well as the Marine Cargo Terminal.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd (HACTL) operates SuperTerminal 1 (ST1) which handles about 85% of the cargo throughput at the airport. The rest is handled by Asia Airfreight Terminals (AAT). HACTL's ST1 covers a 17-hectare site with a six-storey main building plus a two-storey Express Centre. ST1 has a design capacity of 2.4mn tonnes while the Express Centre is made to handle up to 200,000 tonnes.

AAT comprises 39,150sqm of space that includes 22,000sqm of warehouse area. It has a design capacity for 420,000 tonnes per annum.

A third cargo facility, the Airport Freight Forwarding Centre that is in close proximity to the two cargo terminals, comprises a three-storey building with a total lettable area of 120,000sqm for cargo storage and handling. The centre has 53 independent freight stations on each floor served by three wide-lane ramps (two lanes up, one down) that enable 40-foot containers direct access to the various floors. The AFFC subsidiary, ACLS (Airport Cargo Logistics Services) is on the ground floor of the nine-storey office building.