The statue is on the Narmada River in the Kevadiya colony, facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam 100 kilometres (62 miles) southeast of the city of Vadodara.

[5] It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar and was inaugurated by Modi, then Prime Minister of India, on 31 October 2018, the 143rd anniversary of Patel's birth.

[7] A society named Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET) was formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Gujarat, to execute the project.

[11] After studying statues of Patel across the country a team of historians, artists, and academics chose a design submitted by the Indian sculptor Ram V.

Once the design of the largest model was approved, a detailed 3D scan was produced which formed the basis for the bronze cladding cast in a foundry in China.

[7][10] The Statue of Unity was built by a Public Private Partnership model, with most of the money coming from the Government of Gujarat.

[23] A consortium comprising Turner Construction, Michael Graves and Associates and the Meinhardt Group supervised the project.

[25] Narendra Modi, then serving as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, laid the statue's foundation stone on 31 October 2013, the 138th anniversary of Patel's birth.

[26][27] Indian infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro won the contract on 27 October 2014 for its lowest bid of ₹2,989 crore (equivalent to ₹48 billion or US$550 million in 2023) for the design, construction and maintenance of the statue.

[10] Local tribals belonging to the Tadvi tribe opposed the land acquisition for the development of tourism infrastructure around the statue.

[34] Construction of the monument was completed in mid-October 2018; and the inaugural ceremony was held on 31 October 2018 (143rd birth anniversary of Vallabhbhai Patel), and was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It rises 54 metres (177 ft) higher than the previous record holder, the Spring Temple Buddha in China's Henan province.

[10] The monument is constructed on a river island named Sadhu Bet, 3.2 km (2.0 mi) away from and facing the Narmada Dam downstream.