Fourteen hubway kiosks and several shower areas along Sam Son Beach in Thanh Hoa Province are now badly damaged, some left deserted for long periods.
These facilities were part of the coastal tourism space east of Ho Xuan Huong Street, built by FLC Group under a build operate transfer partnership.
FLC was permitted to use and operate the sites for three years from 2019 to 2021.
In 2022, the group transferred the facilities to Sam Son ward without recovering its investment, leaving local authorities to manage and operate them.
Since the handover, the ward has assigned the youth union to operate the facilities during holiday seasons. However, all 14 hubway kiosks have deteriorated. Several stand abandoned, with broken equipment scattered among piles of debris.
Recent storms buried some kiosks under thick layers of sand that remain uncleared days later.
Beyond the kiosks, many shower areas along the beach have been left shattered, with strong waves toppling structures and ripping up floor tiles that now lie strewn across the shoreline.
Concrete sections at these shower sites have been stripped to their steel frames after repeated wave damage, while cattle are seen grazing along parts of the beach.
Trinh Tien Dung, chairman of Sam Son Ward People’s Committee, confirmed that the hubway kiosks and shower facilities are deteriorating. He said the ward is seeking operators for the kiosks before the Lunar New Year holiday.
He added that the ward will submit plans to the province to auction these public assets. If an investor is found by February 2026, the facilities will be handed over for repair and operation. If not, the ward will allocate its own budget to install and repair the sites in time for the tourism season.
