The Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Wednesday that it will raise 500 billion U.S. dollars in additional resources to beef up its firewall, amid mounting worries over the ongoing eurozone debt crisis.

"Based on staff's estimate of global potential financing needs of about 1 trillion dollars in the coming years, the Fund would aim to raise up to 500 billion dollars in additional lending resources," a Fund spokesman said in a short statement Wednesday.

"This total includes the recent European commitment of about 200 billion dollars in increased Fund resources. At this preliminary stage, we are exploring options on funding and will have no further comment until the necessary consultations with the Fund's membership have been completed," added the spokesman.

"Fund management and staff will explore options for increasing the Fund's firepower, subject to adequate safeguards. I welcome Executive Directors' collective interest in resolving the crisis and securing global economic stability," IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in a statement Tuesday after an IMF Executive Board discussion on the adequacy of Fund resources.

The biggest challenge was to respond to the crisis in an adequate manner and many Executive Directors stressed the necessity and urgency of collective efforts to contain the debt crisis in the eurozone and protect economies around the world from spillovers, she noted.