DUSHANBE, October 4, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- A delegation of the Innovative Road Solutions (IRS), which operates the Dushanbe-Chanak highway, is attending the final meeting of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association’s (IBTTA) 2010 Education Series: Operating and Maintaining Your Toll Facility – Where the Rubber Meets the Road, according to IRS.

The meeting kicked off in Raleigh, North Carolina (USA) on October 3 and runs trough October 5.

The meeting has brought together more than 300 delegates to discuss how engineering, design, maintenance, operations, and security roles have come together to address the challenges of operating modern, sustainable, technologically advanced and economically viable toll facilities.

The IRS representatives conducted fruitful negotiations on exchange of experience and introduction of new technologies with representatives from Wilbur Smith Associations, PBS&J Company, TRMI System Integration, IBI Group and the United States Road Maintenance Department on sidelines of the meeting, the source said.

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) is the worldwide alliance of toll operators and associated industries that provides a forum for sharing knowledge and ideas to promote and enhance toll-financed transportation services.

We will recall that the Dushanbe-Chanak highway was upgraded by Chinese companies and paid for with a $281.2 million loan from China. The Tajik government announced that in order to repay the loan the highway would become a toll road and a toll would be collected for using the highway starting on April 1.  IRS that operates the toll road is exempted from paying 17 types of taxes.