"Historic day it is! 15 long years' wait is over," Fadnavis tweeted, after handing over the letter to L&T officials at the 'Vidhan Bhavan' in south Mumbai.
"Maharashtra and our nation has waited for 15 long years for this monument of pride for every Indian," Fadnavis said.
"I have given directions to start the actual work before monsoon. It is our government who took every permission for this grand memorial in a record time," he said.
The project envisages a 192-meter tall statue of Shivaji Maharaj on a small rocky island located 3.5 km from the Mumbai coast.
The expenditure is estimated to be around Rs 3,600 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the project in December 2016.
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