The government will spend NT$6 billion (US$182.93 million) over a five-year period to renovate 29 train stations in scenic Hualien and Taitung counties, part of an ongoing effort to upgrade tourism infrastructure in eastern Taiwan, a Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) official said Friday. The project will begin in 2010 and is expected to be completed in 2014, according to Chou Yung-hui, deputy chief of the Railway Reconstruction Bureau under the MOTC. Chou said the renovation project will turn the stations into portal buildings that will display local natural and cultural characteristics. The themes to be featured will include the original stones in Hualien, the forest paths in Sincheng, the sugar cane fields in Guangfu, the dairy farms in Rueisuei, the mustard flower fields in Fuli, the bicycle paths in Guanshan and the paddy plantation in Chihshang, he said. Meanwhile, bicycle reparation services will be provided in 10 of the stations, and seven other stations will offer bicycle rental and Internet services, Chou said. The MOTC previously launched a project aimed at establishing a bicycle path network in eastern Taiwan that will turn the region into a paradise for leisure cycling. A main part of the project will be to extend and improve some existing bicycle paths to create five 'classic routes' covering Taipei, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties by the end of this year. The routes will be further extended over the next few years to form an integrated network by 2012. 