MAKATI DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION has a history that dates back over decades of years when it was only one of the divisions of Ayala Corporation. Then called Real Estate Division Group or the RED Group, it was responsible for the development of Makati - the complete integrated community with first class residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas.
In 1974, MDC and Ayala Realty Development Corporation (ARDC) were spun-off from the former RED Group when in-house projects of the Group were nearing completion. MDC was conceived along the lines of contracting horizontal and infrastructure projects outside the interest of Ayala Corporation while ARDC was involved in the project management of vertical construction.
MDC's initial ventures were the 2 IBRD-funded projects, the Manila-East Road and the Sto. Tomas - Batangas Road, approximately 100 kms.In 1977, MDC commenced work on a 31-km pipe laying projects for the supply and distribution of potable water to Tacloban City in Leyte.
At about 1977, MDC was contracted by Ayala Corp. to start the land development of Ayala Alabang Village, a 605-hectare community completes with road network, sewer and drainage systems.
Not long after in 1978, MDC was again awarded another IBRD contract, the Naga-Toledo Road Project, a 32-km road from Naga to Toledo in Cebu.
It was in 1978 that MDC's capability was diversified and strengthened through an operational merger with ARDC. With this transition, MDC expanded its scope of work to include vertical construction with the employee housing project and to provide technical expertise in managing the construction of high-rise buildings, among which are the BPI Building, Twin Towers, Makati Tuscany and several others.In its untiring quest for expansion, MDC ventured further into overseas contracting in 1979. In collaboration with a leading Japanese firm, the company undertook the construction of 2 general hospitals in Iraq, one in Najaf and the other in Kadhimiya.
In 1984, the company pursued infrastructure jobs inside the US bases, Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base.
By 1988, Ayala Corp spun off its real estate group into Ayala Land, Inc (ALI) and MDC became the construction subsidiary of ALI.
The nineties saw MDC pursuing aggressively the industrial estate development. It was awarded the contract to do the land development of Laguna Technopark Phases 1 to 5 with an area of 388 hectares complete with utilities and amenities.
Almost simultaneously, it was also doing the land development of Cebu Business Park in Cebu City (a 44.6-hectare development of raw land into a business complex complete with utilities) and the Sta. Rosa Estate, San Jose & Santa Rosa Villages in Laguna (a 167.95-hectare development of raw land into a subdivision).
In March 2003, MDC earned ISO Certification for ISO-9001: Version 2000 for Quality Management System and ISO-14001 for Environmental Management System from Certification International (UK) Limited/United Kingdom Assessment Services and OHSAS-18001 for Occupational Health and Safety from Certification International Philippines, Inc. hence, first construction company in the country with the distinction of receiving all three certifications at the same time.