Bassam Ghulman has been the secretary of the comprehensive management center at the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites since this August. Ghulman has also been deputy minister for transportation affairs at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah since February 2018. Previously, he was general manager of the Haramain High-Speed Rail Project, which links the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. He was also a professor of contracts and construction project management at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah. He first joined the university as an assistant lecturer in 1994, and held several positions there, including head of the civil engineering department. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Umm Al-Qura University. He earned his master’s and Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Oklahoma in the US. Ghulman also serves as vice chairman of the board of the Saudi Council of Engineers. He was an adviser to the secretary of Makkah, having first joined the municipality there as an assistant civil engineer in 1991. He is also a member of several government committees, including the advisory board for development in the Makkah region. Ghulman has participated in local, regional and international events and conferences, and has published numerous academic papers and books.