Euro Disney to Bail Out 40 Subcontractors : Theme park: The companies were working for the Gabot-Eremco construction group, which has been unable to honor all of its commitments.

The European arm of the Walt Disney Co. that is building the giant Euro Disneyland theme park outside of Paris said Tuesday that it has signed a preliminary agreement to pay some of the money a contractor owes to 40 subcontractors.

The subcontractors were working for the Gabot-Eremco construction contracting group, which has been unable to honor all of its commitments. Some of the subcontractors have said they face bankruptcy if not paid for their work on Euro Disneyland.

A spokesman for the Euro Disneyland declined to say how much would be paid. But the spokesman said the payments will be less than $20.3 million that Euro Disney had already paid Gabot-Eremco for work on the park, due to open in two months.

Euro Disney shares fell in response to Tuesday’s agreement because of uncertainty over how much the firm will have to pay to resolve the matter, some traders said. And in another setback for the project, a fire apparently sparked by a short circuit caused minor damage Tuesday to the Sequoia Lodges hotel being built at the park. About a dozen rooms were damaged before the blaze was brought under control two hours later, a fire official said.

Euro Disneyland is scheduled to open April 12. A spokesman said the opening will not be delayed by the contracting dispute.

The project is being built by Euro Disney SCA, the French company managing the theme park project. Euro Disney SCA is 49% publicly held, while 51% is owned by the Walt Disney Co., which retains management control of the project.

A joint communique from Euro Disney and the National Federation of Builders, an industry group, said Euro Disney “has agreed to help these companies, paying the charges that weren’t honored by Gabot-Eremco.”

Gabot-Eremco and 15 other main contractors are demanding $157 million in additional fees from Euro Disney for work that they say was added to the project after initial contracts were signed.

Euro Disney rejects the claim, and the contractors have sought government intervention. The company says it has paid Gabot-Eremco in full and disputes the contractor’s claim that it is owed another $3.7 million.

But the move is expected to defuse threats by some subcontractors to provoke disturbances at the Euro Disney shareholder meeting Thursday, or at the official opening of the park.

Euro Disney officials previously said that under no circumstances would they pay Gabot-Eremco and accused its officers of incompetence.