Independent Preparation Escrow (IPE) Model: An Arm's-Length Mechanism to Accelerate Municipal PPP Preparation in South Africa.

This report introduces the Independent Preparation Escrow (IPE) Model, an arm’s-length mechanism to accelerate municipal Public Private Partnership (PPP) preparation in South Africa without compromising fairness or compliance. Under IPE, a private proponent pre-funds an independent escrow that pays invoices of a municipality-appointed Transaction Advisor (TA) for feasibility and procurement activities. The municipality controls scope and governance (SCM/FIDPM), all outputs vest in the municipality, and the full feasibility pack is released to the RFP data room for equal access by all bidders. At financial close, the preferred bidder reimburses documented preparation costs plus a capped, benchmark-linked, non-compounding carry-cost mirroring established project-development cost-recovery practice while avoiding municipal borrowing.