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The National University of Mexico has made an eort towards the design of a large telescope able to beat the empirical cost vs. diameter law and provide our astronomical community with a facility for future research. This has led us to develop a series of solutions to critical problems in telescope design and manufacture. We rst present a brief review of our current telescope concept, together with a progress report and plans. Recent site testing studies of San Pedro Martir (Observatorio Astronomico Nacional) in Baja California are reviewed. Finally, we describe in more detail innovative ideas in topics that are relevant to other segmented telescope projects: segment polishing, phasing and thin membrane mirrors