COLOMBO, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka is in discussions with the World Bank to obtain a 250-million-U.S. dollar loan to set up 5,000 export production villages across the country in order to boost the nation's export sector, local media reported Tuesday.

The villages will be linked with 33 specialized agro and fish processing zones which are currently being set up in the country, Primary Industries and Social Empowerment Minister Daya Gamage said.

Speaking at the Global Spice Road Symposium in Colombo, Minister Gamage said under the first phase, the government will establish 1,000 export production villages in 300 divisions within the next two years.

Upon completion of the project, the government targets an additional export income of 7 to 9 billion U.S. dollars and 500,000 new employment opportunities.

Sri Lanka's Export Development Board (EDB) last month said it has set a target of fetching 20 billion U.S. dollars through exports in 2019, a goal that has been set following the export revenue moving towards a positive growth in recent years.