Construction of the Magellan Project 6.5 meter telescopes is in progress. The enclosure for the first telescope is complete along with the auxiliary building that will house the coatings plant. The mount for the first telescope was shipped to Las Campanas Observatory in October 1997. Currently the telescope is being installed in its enclosure and will be cabled up and under test in the first half of 1998. Primary mirror #1 is being polished by the University of Arizona and will tested on its supports in the telescope cell prior to shipping in Chile in early 1999. The work of re-building the oven for casting the second Magellan mirror has just started. The development of the first suite of science instruments that will include visible band and 1 - 2.5 micron infrared multi-object spectrometers is underway. A two channel Echelle spectrometer is also planned. This paper summarizes the progress to date.
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