The heart of the World Trade Center memorial will begin taking shape this month when artisans start etching the 2,982 names of the terror-attack victims into sheets of bronze that will surround the footprints of the Twin Towers.

An $11 million contract to begin the painstaking process was approved yesterday by the Port Authority.

The names will be cut through the two-inch-thick pieces of bronze so they can be back-lit at night.