The National Road Company is the successor of the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Ministry of Transportation (PWD in Hebrew: מע"צ, Ma'atz), which was founded in 1921.[2] On September 15, 2003 it was decided to reorganize Ma'atz and reconstitute it as a new government-owned corporation that would start operation on January 1, 2004.[3][4] Since becoming the National Roads Company, the company usually no longer directly constructs new roads but rather plans then issues tenders for and manages new roads' construction by companies in the private sector. Beginning in 2010, the company has also been tasked with planning, issuing tenders for, and managing the construction of new railway lines for Israel Railways.