The opening ceremony of the first phase of Istanbul’s new airport - one of the largest airports in the world - will take place on Monday in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and several leaders from around the world.

According to Anadolu, the ceremony will take place on the 95th anniversary of the Turkish Republic.

Over 50 foreign dignitaries from at least 18 countries will attend the ceremony.

Anadolu reported that the new airport, which has been built by a consortium of five contractors, is spread over an area of over 76 million square meters. The first phase of the airport will serve 90 million passengers a year.

With the remaining phases to be completed by 2023, the airport will have six separate runways with a capacity of 500 aircraft, an annual 200 million passengers and open and closed carparks for 70,000 cars.

It will be home to the world’s largest duty-free shopping complex, which willconsist of six sections, including luxury stores and bazaar concepts, Anadolu reported.

The first flight out of the airport will be to the capital, Ankara, on Wednesday while the first international flight will be to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus the following day.

It is expected that by the end of the year, 2,000 planes will use the airporteach day and 250 carriers will fly to over 350 countries.