The Cabinet-level Sports Affairs Council (SAC) will spend NT$1.6 billion (US$50 million) this year on a program aimed at building Taiwan into a sports island, the country's top sports administrator said Wednesday. SAC Minister Tai Hsia-ling said the program will help finance construction of sports or exercise centers in cities and counties around Taiwan to encourage local residents to exercise regularly. The council also intends to invest NT$4 billion over the next four years to build new cycling trails in northern, central, southern and eastern Taiwan. Tai said. 'The trails will connect with 17 road networks around Taiwan to form two round- the-island cycling trails -- one a 1,022-kilometer coastal path and another a 907-km mountain trail, ' explained Tai, who said the new trails would give local cycling enthusiasts a wide variety of options. With the Asian Games coming up in November, the council is actively helping athletes prepare for the event, but it has also launched a medium- and long-term incubation program to nurture Taiwan's outstanding athletes of the future. 