Work on Istanbul's third and the world's biggest airport was launched yesterday with the ground-breaking ceremony attended by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The 10.25 billion euros ($14 billion) project will be built over an area of 3,500 hectares with an annual passenger capacity of 150 million passengers, thus becoming one of the world's busiest air hubs, a Kuna report said.

Erdogan said Turkey is marking a historic day as this will be the largest project in the history of the country.

"The biggest airport in the world is going to rise here. The Turkish people are laying the groundwork of not just an airport but rather a monument of victory and self-confidence," he said.

The first stage of the project will be opened on October 29, 2017, when it will cater to between 70 and 90 million passenger a year, Erdogan added.

The construction of project will pass through four stages.