I imagine he's actually after 5 trade slots. In which case, you need to purchase a Harbor. It costs £200,000 and requires 1,000 citizens. It's not something easily achieved without help from other members. If you join an alliance they might be able to help you, or atleast teach you how to make the money needed.
If you need any more help with improvement purchases for your nation click - http://www.cybernations.net/about_topics.asp#Improvements
Best of luck.