Residents on the Palm Jumeirah have complained that al ofl the lights on Nakheel’s new US$6.5m Al Ittihad Park have stopped functioning, just two months after it officially opened.

The 1.1m sqft sustainable, green oasis containing more than 60 varieties of trees and plants indigenous to the UAE, was opened on National Day last year. It also contains several shallow water lakes and kids playing areas.

“There have been no lights workings since Christmas, it is complete darkness, which is a huge problem because kids play there in the evenings,” said one resident.

Another added: “We have asked why and no one is telling us [why the lights aren't working], we don’t know if it’s a cost issue or technical problems.”

Residents spoken to by Arabian Business also claimed that the running track around the park was originally measured wrong.

“When they opened it was marked at 2.6km now it is 2.7km. Many people have been using the track to train for the Dubai Marathon – people even running the 10km couldn’t understand why their times were originally so slow,” said another resident.

Nakheel did not respond to enquiries from Arabian Business.

The company has been made to write down the value of its real estate assets by US$21.4bn since 2008 and has been forced into a US$16bn debt restructuring plan.

It has also been in a long-running battle with its customers on the Palm Jumeirah since December 2011, when it banned more than 1,300 residents from using the beaches and gyms at its Shoreline Apartments residences and claimed it was owed US$20m in unpaid service charges.