Ship building will return to the banks of the River Mersey, the same day as the Cunard Liner Queen Victoria arrives in Liverpool.
More than 350 people are set to start work on new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, at Cammell Laird ship yard.
Meanwhile, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will board the Queen Victoria, which will be docked nearby.
The Birkenhead shipyard secured a 44m contract from the Ministry of Defence in January.
Minister for International Security Strategy, Gerald Howarth, was visiting Cammell Laird to mark the start of the new project on Monday.
The Queen Victoria, weighing in at 90,000 tonnes, is one of the largest ships afloat, and was launched by the Duchess of Cornwall in Southampton in December 2007.
She calls in to Liverpool shortly after returning from a world cruise.
Great news
Neil Scales, chief executive of Merseytravel, which owns the Mersey Ferries, said: Liverpool is a great destination for the worlds leading cruise liners and we want to welcome this latest Cunard liner in the best possible traditions, by sending out a greeting party.
Royal Daffodil and Snowdrop ships will provide a brilliant place to view this famous arrival.
Queen Victoria is the latest in a long list of Cunard vessels to have sailed the River Mersey ever since her namesake commissioned a transatlantic service over 160 years ago, how fitting then that these equally historic ferries play their part in her arrival.
Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA), which ensured Cammell Laird was awarded the shipbuilding contract, said it was great news for the region and a testament to the skills of the workforce on Merseyside.
William Laird founded the Birkenhead Iron Works in 1824 and by 1828 it was making ships.
Cammell Laird will be working on the warship until December 2012.
Source: shiptalk