Work to clean up a mold infestation at University of Hawai'i-Manoa's Kennedy Theatre began Monday and is to be completed no later than Sept. 30.

Unitek Insulation LLC was chosen to handle the extensive mold cleanup at a cost of $170,060. Bids for the cleanup were submitted earlier in the month, and officials initially planned to go with the lowest bidder, said Jim Manke, UH-Manoa spokesman.

Five companies recommended by a consultant to the university submitted bids and Unitek, the second-lowest bidder, received the contract.

"The low bidder could not arrange insurance bonding," Manke said yesterday.

The infestation was discovered in mid-July and resulted in the closure of Kennedy with just a couple of weeks to go until the fall semester began.

The theater is not expected to reopen until October, in time for rehearsals for the theater's next production, "Battle of Will," Manke said.

The project will entail vacuuming the floor and upholstery with a special cleaner similar to that used during asbestos cleanup, said Emma Kennedy, a consultant with UH-Manoa's Environmental Services office. She has said the infestation was the worst she had seen on the Manoa campus.

The work also will include applying a fungicide to wood panels and upholstery as well as chemical dry-cleaning, she said. The air will have to be filtered using a machine that removes particles from the air.

The mold infestation was discovered by theater manager Marty Myers. Apparently the mold began to grow after June 24, when the air-conditioning was turned off for a week as a fire-retardant curtain containing asbestos was being removed, Myers said.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.