The time line for Mitsubishi to ramp up its operations - including hiring - on the Pooler megasite just got shorter.

Mitsubishi executive Jim Williams said in Savannah on Tuesday the company has received approval from its parent, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to proceed with the second phase of the Mitsubishi Savannah Machinery Works project.

The Savannah project hadn't expected that approval until late fall.

"What this permits us to do is move forward with work on phase two as soon as we finish the concrete work for the first phase," said Williams, vice president for service and manufacturing operations with Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas.

"It pushes our investment, construction and employment for phase two up anywhere from nine months to a year."

The original time line called for Mitsubishi to bring some 200 employees - at an average salary of $58,000 - on board by the end of the first two years of operation. That number was projected to grow to nearly 300 by the end of the third year before topping out at about 500 by 2016.

"Right now, we're looking at having 90 employees working by the end of this year and some 200 by the end of 2011, our first full year of operation," Williams said.

The second phase, which should begin this later year and take a little more than a year to complete, will ultimately bring the number of full-time jobs to 250.

The second phase will feature extensive service capability to support turbine rotor, rotor balancing, valve and other large component repairs and upgrades for gas and steam turbines.

The office and manufacturing facility that comprises phase one is a conventional design, with 120,000 square feet and 20-foot ceilings. The second phase will be about 72,000 square feet with 80- to 90-foot ceilings designed to accommodate larger components and two 125-ton cranes.

The second phase also will include a separate 25,000-square-foot building that will house one of the largest High Speed Balance facilities in the Western Hemisphere. It essentially will be a reinforced concrete bunker where huge internal turbine components, some as large as 12 feet in diameter and as heavy as 150 tons, are balanced and verified at speeds between 1,800 and 3,600 rpms.

Already under construction, the gas turbine combustor component manufacturing facility that comprises phase one is expected to be completed and ready for initial manufacturing operations late this year.

During the third and final phase, the company will manufacture and assemble the next generation of high-efficiency, low-emission gas turbines. That phase is still on track to be completed in 2016.

"But having our phase two money released early is a very positive indicator - a good sign for phase three," Williams said. "So, who knows?"

Tommy Hester, chairman of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, said Mitsubishi's continuing commitment to the area "just solidifies the fact that they were the right company at the right time for the megasite."

"We knew from the beginning that this special site deserved a special company," Hester said. "Every day, Mitsubishi is showing us why they were definitely worth the wait."