PROJECT PREPARATION SUPPORT FAQs
Eligibility and Admission
Applications may be submitted by eligible project owners or sponsors, including public sector entities and other applicants that can demonstrate appropriate authority, ownership or public sector support for the project.
Priority is given to high-value infrastructure projects that can attract private, development or related financing; require support to structure financing; or can leverage PPPs, concessions, blended finance or similar funding and delivery mechanisms.
The project or programme should have a minimum capital value of R1 billion, excluding the cost of project preparation.
Eligible sectors include electricity and energy infrastructure, municipal infrastructure with a focus on trading services, social infrastructure that can leverage alternative financing and delivery mechanisms, transport, and water and sanitation.
No. Projects should have progressed beyond concept stage and must show evidence that the project owner has already undertaken some development work or committed resources toward the project.
Application Requirements and Supporting Documents
Applicants should submit the completed application form, a valid letter of support or authority, delegation of authority for the submitting official, available project approvals, studies, designs, reports, regulatory approvals and any draft Terms of Reference for the requested project preparation scope.
The letter confirms that the accounting officer or authorised decision-maker supports the submission of the project to the Bid Window and that the applicant has authority to engage ISA on the project.
Existing studies help ISA assess the project’s current level of readiness, identify remaining preparation gaps and avoid duplicating work already completed by the project owner or other service providers.
Applicants should clearly state what information is available, what is not available, why it is outstanding and whether it forms part of the requested preparation support. Gaps should be explained rather than left blank.
If a draft Terms of Reference is available, it should be attached. If it is not yet available, the applicant should be prepared to develop one promptly if the project progresses to the next stage of the process.
Project Readiness, Bankability and the Five Case Model
Project readiness means that a project has enough evidence to demonstrate strategic alignment, value for money, affordability, commercial credibility and deliverability, and that remaining development gaps can be clearly identified and closed through targeted support.
Bankability means that a project is sufficiently developed to attract funding or financing. This usually requires a credible business case, defined scope, reliable cost estimates, risk allocation, clear approvals pathway, viable revenue or funding model and an implementable delivery structure.
The Five Case Model helps structure a robust business case by testing whether the project is strategically justified, economically beneficial, commercially viable, financially affordable and practically deliverable.
Applicants should describe the stage using evidence of work completed, including initiation, planning, pre-feasibility, comprehensive feasibility, design development, design documentation, approvals and any work already underway.
No. Technical designs are important, but projects must also address demand, economic benefits, affordability, funding strategy, commercial structure, legal requirements, governance, risks and implementation capacity.
Scope and Types of Project Preparation Support
Support may be used to close specific development gaps, including technical studies, feasibility inputs, cost-benefit analysis, financial modelling, funding and financing options analysis, legal and regulatory work, procurement planning, governance arrangements and implementation planning.
This includes work such as revenue model development, tariff or pricing strategy, affordability analysis, cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness analysis, funding and financing options analysis, capital structure and financial modelling.
This includes technical options analysis, engineering studies, site investigations, specialist studies, environmental and social assessments, design refinement, risk analysis and technical inputs needed to support feasibility or business case development.
This includes support relating to permits, licences, land use rights, contractual frameworks, concession or PPP structures, procurement documentation and compliance requirements.
This includes assessing the capacity of the project sponsor and implementing agencies, clarifying roles and responsibilities, establishing governance arrangements and strengthening the implementation plan.
No. Project preparation support is collaborative. The project owner remains responsible for the project and must continue to provide leadership, information, approvals and resources where required.
Funding, Financing and Applicant’s Contribution
No. Project preparation support is intended to help develop the project toward bankability, funding readiness and implementation. It is not intended to fund construction or replace the capital funding requirement for the project.
A viability gap is the difference between what a project can reasonably fund or finance from its own revenue or financing structure and the support required to make the project affordable, fundable or commercially viable.
This helps ISA understand what has already been funded, what work is underway, whether other project preparation facilities are involved and how additional support can be coordinated without duplication.
It means the project owner has committed its own resources, budget, staff time, approvals or technical work to advance the project and is not relying on ISA to develop the project from scratch.
Yes, where appropriate and with applicant consent, ISA may engage other project preparation facilities to supplement the required support and crowd in additional preparation funding or expertise.
Completing a Strong Application
A strong application clearly explains the project need, strategic alignment, benefits, cost estimates, funding assumptions, current development status, key risks, implementation dependencies and the specific preparation support required.
The scope should be specific enough to identify the services required, expected outputs, technical expertise, estimated cost, estimated duration and how the support will close gaps in the project’s development.
Applicants should identify the main technical, financial, commercial, regulatory, institutional, environmental, social and implementation risks, allocate a risk owner, indicate severity and provide realistic mitigation measures.
Applicants should provide realistic dates for the planning period, commercial close, financial close, preparation duration and broader implementation milestones, supported by the current stage of project development.
Applicants should avoid vague descriptions, unsupported cost estimates, unclear ownership, missing authority documents, unsupported claims of readiness, unexplained information gaps and broad requests for support that do not identify specific preparation outputs.